Maryland county building faces backlash for replacing POW flags with Pride flags

A Maryland county’s executive office building raised its prisoners of war flag once again after facing backlash for replacing it with the LGBTQ Pride flag, NBC Washington reports.

In order to make room for the flag in honor of Pride Month, Montgomery County took down a POW/MIA flag, which honors missing American troops, at a veterans memorial. During a Monday ceremony, county officials raised the LGBTQ Pride flag in its place.

The move was quickly met with backlash, with one Twitter user saying “this is getting out of hand.”

This is getting out of hand!! – Pride Flag Replaces POW/MIA Flag at Montgomery County Executive Building in Maryland | End Time Headlines https://t.co/CTr4xj5i6u

— Sam the Man (@gsamu53) June 12, 2019

But by Tuesday morning, the military flag was back in its original position with the Pride flag flying along with it.

{mosads}Montgomery County Councilman Evan Glass, who is the body’s first openly LGBTQ member, told NBC that “the flag post was only able to accommodate one flag,” but when the county government realized, it “quickly” started working to change that.

“So, we’re adding more ringlets so that by tomorrow morning both flags will be raised,” he told NBC.

The Pride flag is set to fly for the month of June in honor of Pride Month, while the POW/MIA flag will be permanent.

Other states and cities have joined in flying the Pride flag for the remainder of June, with New York’s and Wisconsin’s state capitols raising the flag for the first time in the states’ history.