Right-wingers call for rainbow flag to be taken down after Charleston shooting
Several outspoken anti-gay critics have compared the rainbow flag with the Confederate flag, after a racist mass shooting.
The controversial Confederate flag – used by the pro-slavery southern states during the American Civil War – is seen by many as a symbol of racism and segregation.
Many states still fly the Confederate flag, and it’s frequently found in merchandising, but there have been calls to remove it in the wake of the shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, North Carolina.
The flag has already been removed from many government buildings, and businesses such as Wal-Mart have pledged to no longer sell items featuring the flag.
But now some anti-gay critics have argued that the rainbow flag, or Pride flag, should similarly be removed.
Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association called it the flag of the “Gay Reich”.
He said: “If we are going to remove symbols of oppression from our culture, if we come to the point where we say any flag that represents bigotry, any flag that represents hatred, any flag that represents slavery or oppression needs to be removed, then I want to suggest to you that the next flag to go ought to be the rainbow flag of the Gay Reich.
“They’ve got a flag just like the Nazis had their flag.”
Brietbart writer John Nolte similarly called the flag “fascist” and called for it to be taken down from government buildings.
He said: “Under the banner of what is dishonestly called a gay pride or gay “rights” flag, hate, fascism, and intolerance has festered for years, specifically against Christians and conservatives.
“The symbol of bigots who seek to strip others of their First Amendment right to practice their religion has no place on government grounds.”
Fox pundit Erick Erickson previously claimed the shootings happened because transgender people are accepted by society.
