Texas gay pride flag
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A Google search for news reports about Texas criminalizing pride flags found nothing credible and only resulted in fact-checks.
Like real nuns, they take vows, but theirs are to the community instead of the church. We are going to have to reassure them with that feeling and that emotional and physical support.”
The Texas Senate advanced a bill that would ban Pride flags from public school classrooms but the proposal has stirred confusion and criticism, especially since lawmakers pushing the measure can't clearly define what constitutes a "flag."
The fight over LGBTQ visibility in Texas schools is not new, but Senate Bill 762, introduced by Republican Sen.
Donna Campbell, escalates the culture war, the Dallas Observer reported.
Supporters of the bill argue that it brings uniformity and neutrality to school environments, but LGBTQ advocates see it as a thinly veiled attack. The piece of legislation, Senate Bill 10, which is sponsored by Campbell, soared through the Republican majority Senate. Campbell did not respond to our request for comment.
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In uncertain times, when drag bans are plentiful and “biological sex” is on the tip of Republicans’ tongue, Sister O.M.
Gee says it’s important for the queer community to unite and find new ways to be prideful in spite of targeted legislation. The vagueness surrounding the definition of what qualifies as a "flag" has added to the bill's controversy—raising questions about whether posters, pins, or other visual symbols could also be targeted.
Meanwhile, members of local organizations like the DFW Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence say the Pride flag is not just decoration.
“We have to find new and inventive ways to reach our community so that we don’t lose that support for our youth because they are already vulnerable.”
She said the bill, rather than an attack, is a challenge to the queer community to “step up their game.”
“The fact that this bill is even being introduced is a call to action because we do need to pay attention,” she said.
Even in Texas, finding one of the recognizable flags does not take too long. As Sister O.M. Gee, a nun with the DFW Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, put it, "Removing it doesn't protect anyone—it silences kids who already feel isolated."
If SB 762 passes, Texas schools may soon be forced to take down displays that promote LGBTQ acceptance, which critics fear could worsen mental health outcomes and bullying for queer youth.
"The Pride flag obviously began as kind of a symbol of resilience for the queer community and kind of a way for us to stand out and be seen," Gee said.
By removing the Pride flag, all it does is isolate kids who are already vulnerable to these kinds of hatred. Boutiques, bars, churches, health centers and Dallas City Hall (for the month of June) keep their Pride flags at full mast.
“The Pride flag obviously began as kind of a symbol of resilience for the queer community and kind of a way for us to stand out and be seen,” said Sister O.M.
Gee, a nun with the DFW Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Contrary to social media users’ claims, no law has banned pride flags in the Lone Star State.
"Texas declares bringing a pride flag to the classroom a crime," a Dec. 10 Threads post with a picture of a person in front of a pride flag and a photo of a crowd at what appears to be a pride rally said.
But the headline originated as satire.
“It has been a social symbol.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a national philanthropic non-profit organization that uses drag performances satirizing Catholic nuns to promote social justice. The acceptable flags are the star-spangled banner, the Texas flag, the Prisoner of War or Missing In Action flag, a political subdivision’s flag, a military flag, the flag of a foreign country and a college flag among others.
The bill is seen by some LGBTQ advocates as a direct attack on the Pride flag and its many modified versions relating to a variety of LGBTQ identities without explicitly saying it.
The English teacher, Rachel Stonecipher, did not have her contract extended following her suspension, and according to her LinkedIn page, she is still looking for a new job.
“Those stickers were not endangering students,” she said to KERA News in a 2022 interview. The flag has been a beacon of hope and a symbol of allyship and acceptance for the queer community since it debuted at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978.
And I think a lot of our different cities and organizations have blurred the lines between what is social and what is political. “Having a Pride flag up as an ally is a symbol of strength and community.”
She says allyship and safe spaces are especially important within schools for students who are not out, and especially for those who are.
“LGBT youth already has a higher rate of bullying, depression, mental health disorders from [that] bullying, and we have a higher suicide rate than any other group.
The district claimed the stickers would make straight students feel unsafe, according to a report from KERA News. 8 with a satire label on Esspots, a satire and parody news website. If Dallas Observer matters to you, please contribute today to help us expand our current events coverage when it’s needed most. "However, if you take that into today's context, especially with schools, having the ability to have Pride flags on school campuses gives queer youth and queer young adults, whether it be high school, college, middle school or even elementary, it gives them the identity that they exist."
Students, parents, and teachers are already preparing for the potential fallout, with some pledging to resist quietly through other forms of expression.
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“It’s really all about broadening our horizons and reaching out to the community in times when, unfortunately, when our legislators are preventing it,” she said.