The Richmond Federal Reserve is flying the rainbow flag to acknowledge gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender pride month. The request was made by PRISM, an advocacy group for the aforementioned groups. The Fed is a private establishment. Its first vice president, Sally Green acknowledged:
“We are flying the pride flag as an example of our commitment to the values of acceptance and inclusion.”
Sounds good to me. Pretty flag, commitment to inclusion. Gay people make and have money. What could anyone find wrong?
Enter side-show Bob Marshall, 13th delegate district who claims that flying the rainbow flag represents
“…a serious deficiency of judgment by your organization, one not limited to social issues.”
According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:
In a letter to Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker, Marshall says the homosexual behavior “celebrated” by the bank “undermines the American economy” and is a class six felony in Virginia.
“The Richmond Fed’s endorsement of costly, anti-social, immoral behavior is rejected by 6,000 years of Western Religious and moral teaching,” writes Marshall, who is among the General Assembly’s most conservative members and has long been outspoken on gay-rights issues. “You want the American people to trust your [judgment] in economic matters when your spokesperson celebrates an attack on public morals?”
