Many employees from the United States Consulate General in Guadalajara turned out for last weekend’s (second) Pride March this June. The high-spirited and colorful event was enjoyed by several thousand Tapatios and visitors.
The U.S. Department of State says it works “proudly to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world.” The Guadalajara consulate regularly posts information on LGBTQI+ issues on its social media accounts. Many images of consulate staff enjoying the Pride celebrations in Guadalajara also appeared online this week (see photo right), as has been the case during the Joe Biden administration, and previously under Barack Obama.
Noticeably far less frequent, however, were the consulate’s Facebook and other postings during the 2016-2020 Trump administration, perhaps unsurprising given Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s extensive record of opposing gay rights.
The Trump administration angered many foreign service employees after rejecting requests from U.S. diplomatic missions to fly the rainbow pride flag on embassy flagpoles during June. The Biden administration overturned that policy in May 2021.
But with many Republicans ramping up their efforts to introduce anti-LGBTQI+ legislation, the policy unfortunately didn’t last long.
In March, the bipartisan measure to avert a U.S. government shutdown included a provision introduced by Republicans that once again banned LGBTQI+ pride flags from flying over U.S. embassies.
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