Colorado GOP calls for burning of Pride flags, faces backlash

(The hill) – The Colorado Republican Party this week called for Pride flags to be burned, describing LGBTQ Americans as “godless bullies” in a fundraising email and in several social media posts criticizing Pride Month.

“Burn all #pride flags this June,” said the state Republican Party wrote Monday on X. On Monday morning, an email sent by the party with the subject line “God Hates Pride” perpetuated the false claim that LGBTQ people are “grooming” children to abuse them.

“The month of June is here and, once again, the ungodly handlers of our society want to attack what is decent, sacred and fair so that they can ultimately harm our children,” the email reads.

The party’s message — which includes a link to a sermon led by Mark Driscoll, an evangelical pastor known for his anti-LGBTQ views — is signed by state chairman Dave Williams, who is also a Republican candidate for Congress.

Williams, whose candidacy for Colorado’s 5th Congressional District was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is fending off a competitive primary challenge from conservative podcast host Jeff Crank, who has won the endorsement of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. ., in May.

Notably, Colorado’s 5th District includes Colorado Springs, where five people were killed and more than two dozen injured in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in 2022. Survivors linked the Club Q attack to “extreme anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric.” and the policies defended by Republicans.

In a statement to The Hill, Williams said the Colorado Republican Party “does not apologize for saying that God hates pride or pride flags, as it is an agenda that harms children and undermines the authority of parents.”

“The only backlash we see is from radical Democrats, the fake news media, and weak Republicans who bow to leftist cancel culture,” he said in an email.

Valdamar Archuleta, president of the Colorado chapter of the conservative LGBTQ advocacy organization Log Cabin Republicans and the GOP candidate for Congress, withdrew his party endorsement in response to Monday’s email.

The state Republican Party earlier this month released a list of more than 100 endorsed candidates for Congress, state legislature and statewide offices. As of Wednesday afternoon, Archuleta, who is running in Colorado’s solidly blue 1st Congressional District, remained on the list.

“I have been an avid critic of the evolution of the Pride celebration in recent years and a staunch supporter of protecting children from environments and entertainment of an adult nature. However, this email went too far and was simply hateful,” he said on Tuesday. in a statement.

“This email does NOT represent Colorado Republican voters,” he added.

Archuleta and Log Cabin Republicans alike clashed with the state Republican Party during Pride month last year, when the party sent an email to supporters with the subject line “Pride is evil.”

State Democrats also condemned the GOP emails and social media posts.

“This kind of vile hatred has come to define the CO GOP and that’s why we’re organizing the votes up and down to beat them at every level,” said Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib. wrote on X.

A spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat and the nation’s first openly gay governor, criticized the email in a statement to The Hill.

“What a ridiculous direct mail piece. Governor Polis is focused on creating a Colorado for All, where everyone can thrive, no matter who they love or how they identify,” the spokesperson wrote. “The governor looks forward to celebrating Pride Month alongside his fellow Coloradans and will not let a politician’s incoherent ramblings get in the way.”

The Colorado Republican Party has moved increasingly to the right on LGBTQ issues. In May, the party, in a fundraising email, advised parents take your children out of public schoolsciting “LGBTQ indoctrination.”