On Gay Pride Day 2023, the Government Delegation in Valencia had the multicoloured flag that represents the LGTBI community on its facade. This was after recent elections that led to a PP and Vox regional government. The Christian Lawyers Association then filed an administrative appeal, which the TSJCV accepted and ruled in favour of the entity, saying that the flag was put up “without following any procedure or issuing any resolution.”
The matter has gone to the Supreme Court, which says that it is permissible to fly the LGBTQ+ flag on the day that honours the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The Court also uses the same criteria it used in three earlier cases when Christian lawyers opposed the display of the LGBTQ+ flag. These cases were in the Zaragoza City Council, the Provincial Council, and the City Council of Valladolid. The association is actually taking legal action in this area because it believes that raising or displaying unofficial LGBTQ+ ideological flags goes against “the Christian conception of the family and the anthropological vision of the human being defended by Christianity.” One of its goals is “to oppose the promotion of LGBTQ+ ideology by public administrations and, specifically, when such promotion violates the principle of neutrality that applies to said administrations.”
The Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court has ruled that putting an unofficial LGBTI flag on the front of the Government Delegation’s official headquarters in Valencia on June 28th, 2023, is legal. This is because “it must be considered a positive action in favour of this LGBTI group, in accordance with the applicable legal regulations, without being contrary to the principle of objectivity and institutional neutrality that Article 103.1 of the Constitution imposes on the Public Administration.”
Legal, but no mechanism or resolution
The Supreme Court has upheld the State Attorney’s appeal against the High Court of Justice of Valencia’s decision on appeal. The High Court of Justice of Valencia said that the Government Delegation’s action was an abuse of power because they didn’t follow any rules or make any decisions about putting the flag on the official building. The Supreme Court does not agree with this argument and says that it must follow the rules set out in the cited case law precedents, which say that this kind of action should be seen as affirmative action by the government in favour of the LGBTI community, not against institutional neutrality. So, it throws out the appeal from Christian Lawyers and doesn’t need to decide if that group has the right to appeal.
Author: Derek Appleton
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