For Pride Month, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is displaying LGBTQ flags outside Capitol

By: Sarah Anne Hughes - June 10, 2019 12:12 pm

Pride flags are flown outside Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s capitol office. (Photo by Sarah Anne Hughes)

To mark Pride Month, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is displaying flags that represent the LGBTQ community from the balcony outside his Capitol office.

According to Fetterman, this is the first time the Philadelphia Pride Flag and Transgender Flag have been flown from the Capitol. There will also be a “rainbow” light display June 10 to June 18.

“Fetterman ordered the flags and light display to join the LGBTQIA+ community in the monthlong celebration,” a statement from his office reads. “The Lieutenant Governor and his family plan to attend numerous Pride events throughout the summer.”

Gov. Tom Wolf and Fetterman, both Democrats, attended Pride events over the weekend.

Here’s some background on the flags, from Fetterman’s office:

The Philadelphia People of Color Inclusive Flag originated in the city and adds the colors brown and black to the rainbow flag to represent gay Philadelphians of color who had faced discrimination. The Transgender Flag, designed by transgender woman Monica Helms in 1999, symbolizes a spectrum of identities. The pattern is designed so the flag looks correct regardless of how it’s flown, symbolizing the desire of people to find correctness in their own lives.

(Courtesy Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's office) — (Courtesy Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s office)

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Sarah Anne Hughes

Associate Editor Sarah Anne Hughes covers the governor and Pennsylvania's agencies. Before joining the Capital-Star, she was the state capitol reporter for Billy Penn and The Incline, and a 2018 corps member for Report for America. She was previously managing editor of Washington City Paper, editor-in-chief of DCist, and a national blogger for The Washington Post.