It’s no secret that Russia’s autocratic President Vladimir Putin fears rainbows. In Putin’s Russia, displaying a rainbow symbol is an illegal expression of “LGBT extremism.” However, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow is flying a rainbow Pride flag in June. And while American administrations – and secretaries of state – change, that affirmation doesn’t seem to be so partisan abroad.
France-Presse reported in 2019 that then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of the Trump administration had banned U.S. embassies from flying the Pride flag. Despite this, even he issued an approving statement. His 2018 statement reads, in part: “The United States stands firmly with you as you exercise your human rights and fundamental freedoms. We wish you a safe and happy Pride month.”
While this may not be met with the same level of approval as democratic governments, it is proof that America’s message to the world has gone a long way. Part of the credit goes to Mark Bromley, co-chair of the Washington DC-based Council for Global Equality
“When we were founded in 2008, we had to really go out on a limb and try to get the State Department to think of LGBTQ+ issues as human rights issues,” Bromley recalls. “Now, 16 years later, it’s really ingrained in the State Department. So when we see a really bad anti-LGBTQ law or initiative being proposed in a country like Uganda, we don’t have to pressure the embassy to intervene – they’re already three steps ahead of us.”
In fact, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda William W. Popp included this community in his address on the occasion of July 4 this year. While a new law in that country provides for the death penalty in cases of “aggravated homosexuality,” among other punishments for LGBTQ-related so-called crimes, Popp told his audience, “We have also used our voice and our programs to ensure that all Ugandans, regardless of their origin and from vulnerable populations such as women, youth, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQI+ community, have equal access to health care and other public services, without discrimination, stigma, or fear.”
Today, Bromley says, the Council for Global Equality focuses on coordinating with U.S. organizations abroad rather than pressuring them. It’s all part of the mission of the council, which is actually a coalition of dozens of organizations, to “promote a clearer and stronger American voice on human rights issues affecting LGBTQI communities around the world.” Among those numerous organizations are the Center for American Progress, the Trevor Project and the National Center for Transgender Equality.
“We propose to get messages across,” Bromley continues. “We propose to use different tools, be it sanctions policy or trade policy, to encourage the government to do the right thing.”
As for his own career, Bromley has been doing the right thing for decades. Before coming out, Bromley left his hometown of Rochester, NY to pursue a bachelor’s degree in foreign service at Georgetown University. He then earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. During his law school, he spent a lot of time in Haiti, working with refugees and assisting with asylum applications.
The human rights field, he says, has long been a passion of his, so after school he began working for a nongovernmental organization in Washington that works to promote the rule of law abroad. After about a decade of studying the interface between human rights law and U.S. foreign policy, he realized something was missing from the dialogue.
“Nobody here in Washington was really considering LGBTQI people in discussions about U.S. human rights policy,” Bromley says, looking back. “More importantly, nobody was really pushing the U.S. government, our embassies, and our foreign policy to respond to the challenges facing LGBTQ+ people. That’s when I decided to find a way to do that more consistently, to use the capabilities of U.S. foreign policy, the weight and power of U.S. embassies, and our investments abroad to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people.”
Given the Council’s focus, a visit to the organization’s website might be slightly confusing. At the very top of the homepage, highlighted text urges visitors to read the Council’s warning regarding “Project 2025,” also known as the “2025 Presidential Transition Project.”
While the 900-plus-page document is shocking in its hostility toward the LGBTQ community, it is a blueprint for national policy. The right-wing Heritage Foundation, along with several like-minded organizations, has spearheaded the “Project 2025” plan to undermine the federal government and paralyze progressive social values.
It’s arguably so toxic that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has tried to distance himself from it. The project’s director, Paul Dans, who left the Heritage Foundation this week for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, was chief of staff of the Office of Personnel Management during the Trump administration. The next deputy director in line is Spencer Chretien, “special assistant to President Donald J. Trump and deputy director of presidential personnel.” Peel back the layers of this stinking onion and reveal more and more Trump associates.
But why so much interest from Bromley and the City Council? Bromley points, among others, to Sharon Slater, founder of Family Watch International, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. She has been an ally of Heritage in the past and has been a long-standing enemy of the LGBTQ community worldwide.
“They have a shared game plan, a shared script, some of which is laid out in Project 2025,” says Bromley of Slater and Heritage. “Sharon Slater has a very clear vision of how she wants to support extremist, anti-LGBTQ lawmakers and politicians across Africa.”
Bromley adds that in addition to its overtly anti-LGBTQ agenda, the warlike plan could also indirectly make the world a more hostile place for the community.
“Project 2025 is taking a very isolationist path that would take the United States far from its global leadership role,” Bromley says. “It would lead us to a very different world order in a very short period of time, where the United States has far less influence and the influence we do have is with some pretty unsavory, autocratic rulers.”
Whether Project 2025 will ever move from an ambition to a binding one remains to be seen. But whoever becomes president in June, World Pride in Washington is a must.
“I’m a proud Washingtonian and I think this is absolutely a world-class city, an international city,” Bromley says. “I’m excited to have World Pride here.”
“If the Democrats win, and especially if Vice President Harris becomes our next president, this is an incredible opportunity to bring together LGBTQI activists, communities and governments from around the world to recommit to a human rights agenda that protects and advances LGBTQI equality around the world.
“If President Trump wins, and especially given the divisive, anti-LGBTQI stance of his running mate, Senator JD Vance, who has sought to block ambassadorial missions and punish the State Department for supporting the rights of LGBTQI people around the world, I think this is a huge protest to say that our city and the global community have a very different vision of a pluralistic, democratic, human rights-based world that protects LGBTQI communities, allows democracy to thrive, and creates thriving economic partners around the world.
“In any case, DC is the right place and I am glad that World Pride will be held here.”
