Christian groups are upset over the
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's decision to fly a rainbow flag in
recognition of Gay Pride month.
The flag has riled The Family
Foundation, whose new office overlooks the company's plaza where the
flag is waving underneath the American flag.
“We think the Federal Reserve ought
to be focused on the economy rather than focusing on special rights,”
Victoria Cobb, the group's president, told
One News Now.
The website reported that the
Mississippi-based Christian conservative group American Family
Association has received a complaint about the flag from an employee:
“For the past five or six years, the homosexual agenda has been
pushed down our throats. [The bank president and vice president]
have initiated this agenda. This offends me as a Christian.”
While noting that the Federal Reserve
Bank of Richmond is a private financial institution, Cobb said that
it's following the “nation's leadership in promoting a lifestyle
that involves less than two percent of the population.”
On Tuesday, President
Barack Obama declared June Gay Pride month. The following day,
the
White House launched a website dedicated to the administration’s
support for gay rights.
Cobb pointed to Virginia's
voter-approved constitutional ban on gay marriage as evidence that
most residents oppose gay rights: “In Virginia, this is not a stand
that should be taken. We've as a state said we are not going to
support gay marriage, for example, in our constitution, and we've
been very clear on issues of gay rights. So it's disappointing to
see such a large flag flying, as if it's something this commonwealth
supports.”
Federal
Reserve Bank of Richmond CEO Sally Green told Richmond.com that
the organization is “flying the Pride flag as an example of our
commitment to values of acceptance and inclusion.”