Mike Pence’s neighbors have put up LGBT pride flags to protest against the vice president-elect’s stance on gay rights.
As Pence awaits his move to the Naval Observatory in January, he’s renting a $6,000-a-month home in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of the capital, and several residents, who disagree with his position on gay rights, have put up rainbow flags on their homes in protest, according to CNN.
The flags serve as a symbol of pride to the LGBT community.
One neighbor, IIse Heintzen, told CNN affiliate WJLA that the flags are “a respectful message showing, in my case, my disagreement with some of his thinking.”
“I have no idea what [the vice president-elect] will think about, but I hope he will change his mind,” Heintzen said.
There are a dozen of the rainbow flags hanging from homes on Pence’s block.
“I think he’s a man who could use a little reminder about American values,” said another neighbor, according to USA Today.
While President-elect Donald Trump has received praise for his views on gay rights, the same has not been the case for Pence, given his history of conservative views pertaining to the LGBT community, CNN noted.
Pence gained national attention in March 2015 when he signed a law that gave businesses the right to turn away gay and lesbian customers, saying that he was thinking about the religious freedom of businesses, CNN noted.
Indiana, the state Pence is governing until Inauguration Day, was the first state to sign the dotted lines on such a measure.
“The Constitution of the United States and the Indiana Constitution both provide strong recognition of the freedom of religion but today, many people of faith feel their religious liberty is under attack by government action,” Pence said at the time, according to CNN.