Dutch Parliament votes to fly rainbow flag for Coming Out Day

The Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) has voted to fly the rainbow flag at the parliament building this coming Sunday in observance of International Coming Out Day. The motion was initiated by Kati Piri of the PRO party, who argued that the flag belongs at the ‘house of democracy’ as it is displayed on other government buildings.

The decision followed a late-night roll-call vote requested by the SGP party, which required many members to return to The Hague after hours. The final vote resulted in 90 members in favor and 36 against. While the SGP and Forum voor Democratie opposed the motion, ChristenUnie opted to vote in favor to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Opponents, including SGP member Diederik van Dijk, argued that the flag serves as a symbol of activism that is inappropriate for the parliamentary building, stating that only the national tricolor should fly there.