Critics say Measure B is a thinly veiled attack on the LGBTQ community, but supporters say it removes divisive identity politics from the public square.

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“The Huntington Beach City Council is run by a hateful majority whose only interest is advancing an agenda of intolerance for minority communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals," said Peg Coley, the executive director of the LGBTQ Center Orange County. "The pendulum always swings back and history is the harshest judge, but informed votes are the very best prevention.”

Huntington Beach has waded deep into culture wars in recent years, banning mask and vaccination mandates, condemning the Biden administration’s immigration policies, slamming Gov. Gavin Newsom over the state’s homelessness crisis and establishing a panel to review children’s library books for sexual content.

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Child girl is waving American flag on top of mountain at sky background. Sunset time. USA resident, US citizen. Immigration concept

"A lot of this is taking Huntington Beach back to how it was," she said. "A lot of cities are afraid to push back because they don’t want to be the target of Sacramento. We're not afraid."

Young man dad father and his son school boy kid standing on a rock cliff with US flag on shoulders and looking at sea. Travellers child wearing American flag on back. 4 July Independence Day

"Top of Chimney Rock, North Carolina, with a waving American flag, and Lake Lure in the background.All images from the Blue Ridge Mountains:"

One of fourteen headframes, nicked named gallows frames, dot the Butte, Montana skyline which mark the remnants of mines that made the area The Richest Hill on Earth in the early 1900's.

Photo of the US Flag fluttering in the wind in Zion National Park, Utah, USA with mountain peaks and blue sky in the background.

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American National Flag. Panoramic landscape view of a Scenic road in the red rock canyons. Blue Sky and White Clouds. Taken in Arches National Park, located near Moab, Utah, United States.

Independence day. Silhouette of woman holds an American flag in her hands, raised above her head. Back view. In the background, sunset and mountains. The concept of American National Holidays.

A unique formation of clouds form a heart in the distance and a U.S. flag flies in the foreground. San Tan Mountain Regional Park is located near Phoenix, Arizona. It's known for miles of hiking trails, mountain biking and horseback riding. Visitors have a great view of the Sonoran Desert, scenic mountains and unique plant life.

"Enshrining discrimination fuels division," a spokesperson for GLAAD said in an email. "We saw it flying proudly in Huntington Beach to honor trans teenager Nex Benedict last month. Pride flags show LGBTQ people, youth and our allies that they are welcome."

Background portrait young male on mountain peak overlooking valley below with sunlight streaming through American flag behind him.

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In 2022, voters rejected the previous City Council's politically diverse makeup and ushered in four conservative candidates who vote as a bloc. The three left-leaning members are all up for re-election this year.

The most recent Orange County hate crimes report found a 126% increase in hate crimes against members of the LGBTQ community in 2022 over the previous year.

An American flag flies over the Californian Sierra Nevada mountains in the Gull Lake area of California. The lake area is on the June Lake Loop.

City Council member Natalie Moser, who voted against the ordinance, said her colleagues on the right are sowing chaos and division in the quiet community.

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“They want to make MAGA a negative connotation,” Strickland said of left-leaning critics. “But President Ronald Reagan said it first. I do want to Make America Great Again.”

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A single flagpole with the American flag in a calm valley with a cabin and a mountain range in the background during sunset.

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The rainbow Pride flag and other nongovernmental banners will no longer fly on city property in Huntington Beach, California, an oceanside side community that has become a hotbed for broader culture wars.

More than 58% of voters cast ballots in favor of Measure B, according to the latest tally provided by the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

Proud man raising the flag of the United States of America standing on the top of the mountain above beautiful clouds. Successful climb to the top of the mountain.

A single flagpole with the American flag in a calm valley with a cabin and a mountain range in the background during sunset.

American flag on a windy day in Bridgeport, Mono County, California, with the rugged Sawtooth Crest of the Sierra Nevada in the background.

Benedict was a 16-year-old transgender student in Oklahoma who died last month after a fight with three students in a school bathroom.

Happy young friends Fourth of July celebration and enjoy a sunny day at the mountain. They're holding american flag, laughing and toasting with beer bottles near tent.

"It sets a tone," said Huntington Beach City Council Member Rhonda Bolton, who opposed the measure. "If people think it’s OK or it becomes normalized to display bigotry towards a particular group, then folks are going to crawl out of their rock and do bad stuff."

Conservative lawmakers have been paying close attention to how Huntington Beach navigates the culture wars. During Pride Month last year, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted against flying the rainbow flag outside county property.

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Measure B prohibits the display of Pride, breast cancer awareness and religious flags, in what is believed to be the first time voters have directly considered what kind of flags are flown in a city.

American Flag and Denali. This mountain was called Mt McKinley but that was changed and now it is Denali. This is the flag at the visitor’s center waaaay into the park.

Colorado Flag with American Flag Rocky Mountain Landscape. Epic Back ground with Jagged Rocky Mountains from the San Juan Mountain Range near Durango and Silverton Colorado. The Heart of the Rockies.

The ballot measure enshrines into the city charter an ordinance approved last year by the conservative City Council majority, which undid a previous council vote in favor of flying the rainbow flag on city buildings during Pride Month in June.

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Tony Strickland, a member of the City Council’s conservative bloc, said policies like the flag ordinance mark a return to the city's Republican roots.

Top of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana gives us a thumbs up to the beauty and unity of this great country!

Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, who said she switched her party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in 2016, voted in favor of the flag ordinance. She said that she is frustrated by California's liberal supermajority and that this was a way to counter the governance coming from the state capital.

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"As a tourist community, I want to shake every tourist upside down by their ankles to get money out of them," he said. "Therefore, we should be open and inclusive of everyone, and everyone should feel comfortable to come here and spend their money."

Council member Dan Kalmick, who opposed Measure B, said the conservative members are casting a shadow over the city and hurting its pocketbook.

Mount Pleasant, USA - May 11, 2018: Typical American residential house building in Charleston, South Carolina area with American flag and white picket fence

A barn with the American flag painted on the side standing in front of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Wheat field in foreground for great copy space.

Of the city’s nearly 138,000 registered voters, 53,894 are Republicans and 41,412 are Democrats. Nearly 28,000 are registered with no party preference.

I had the idea for this photo before our trip to the Teton Mountains, but since it is a double exposure, I wasn't sure I would see an American flag there. I was grateful that we did & I was able to take the photo. It is a double exposure done in the camera. Originally taken with a Mamiya 645 medium format camera.