Detroit-area city can ban LGBTQ+ pride flags on public property, judge says

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FILE - People who could not get into the Hamtramck city council chambers try to listen via YouTube or on the monitor in the hallway, during public comment on the flag neutrality law being considered by the city council in a meeting at City Hall in Hamtramck, Mich., June 13, 2023. (Robin Buckson/The Detroit News via AP, File)

FILE - Emelyn Rutowski, 27, left, and Alessandro Uribe-Rheinbolt, 24, both of Hamtramck, listen in during public comment on the flag neutrality law being considered by the city council in a meeting, from the hallway at City Hall in Hamtramck, Mich., June 13, 2023. (Robin Buckson/Detroit News via AP, File) — FILE - People who could not get into the Hamtramck city council chambers try to listen via YouTube or on the monitor in the hallway, during public comment on the flag neutrality law being considered by the city council in a meeting at City Hall in Hamtramck, Mich., June 13, 2023. (Robin Buckson/The Detroit News via AP, File)

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6:02 PM on Tuesday, September 9

The Associated Press

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area city that banned LGBTQ+ flags from publicly owned flagpoles did not violate the Constitution, a judge said.

U.S. District Judge David Lawson dismissed a lawsuit against Hamtramck, two years after the city council voted to allow only five flags, including the American flag, the Michigan flag and flags that “represent the international character” of residents. The city is known for welcoming immigrants.

A pride flag was flown in June 2021 and 2022 before some members of the all-Muslim council said it clashed with the beliefs of some members of their faith. Businesses and residents aren’t prohibited from displaying a pride flag on their own property in Hamtramck.

Critics of the new policy said Hamtramck was violating free speech. But Lawson said the city's policy was OK because it bans all private flags not just some.

“Hamtramck’s refusal to display the Gay Pride flag did not violate the Constitution,” the judge said Monday.

Hamtramck, population 27,000, is an enclave surrounded by Detroit. More than 40% of residents were born in other countries, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and a significant share are of Yemeni or Bangladeshi descent.

President Donald Trump has nominated the city's mayor, Amer Ghalib, a native of Yemen, to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.