The mayor of Reno, Nevada and other city officials are apologizing profusely after the American flag flying above city hall was taken down on Sunday and replaced with the LGBT flag.
According to Reno TV station LTVN, the LGBT flag was raised Sunday morning as part of a weekend gay pride celebration. The festivities included a parade and concert by Lance Bass, a former member of the boy band, ‘N Sync.
The American flag and the LGBT flag were supposed to fly together atop city hall, according to statements released by the city. Yet somehow the Stars and Stripes were replaced altogether in favor of the rainbow LGBT ensign.
The American flag was replaced with the #LGBT flag on top of #Reno City Hall this morning. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/1qKngU6tqJ
— Chloe Beardsley (@ChloeBeardsley) July 27, 2015
The flag flew most of the day and was taken down at around 9 p.m. Sunday night. According to LTVN, the city released a statement apologizing for the error and said that neither the city council nor the mayor, Hillary Schieve, were aware that the American flag was not flying.
“The City of Reno honors and respects the men and women who serve our country and we apologize to those we may have offended. While we made an error in not flying the American flag along with the pride flag, when we discovered we were not flying both, we immediately returned to flying the American flag. Neither the Mayor nor City Council was aware we were not flying the American flag. The City was proud to participate in pride weekend and will continue to celebrate our diverse community.”
In a social media post late Sunday, Schieve offered her “sincerest apologies” for the flag flap, saying that she did not order the American flag removed.
I did not order the American flag to be taken down over City Hall. My heartfelt apologies. pic.twitter.com/aeSgLMS0Q9
— Mayor HillarySchieve (@MayorSchieve) July 27, 2015