The Trump administration is hoping to score even more points with the religious right by demanding Ames, Iowa remove its Pride crosswalks. The town said no.

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration asked that the rainbow colored crosswalks be removed because they were a safety hazard. The crosswalks include a Pride flag, the addition of black and brown stripes for racial inclusivity, the trans Pride flag, and the gender nonbinary flag colors.

 

“Crosswalk art has a potential to compromise pedestrian and motorist safety by interfering with, detracting from, or obscuring official traffic control devices," . "The art can also encourage road users, especially bicycles and pedestrians, to directly participate in the design, loiter in the street, or give reason to not vacate the street in an expedient or predictable manner.” 

 

The city council told the federal government to screw off.

 

“My only question is, do we need to do anything?” asked council member Chris Nelson. “Can we just accept the letter and say thank you?”

 

City Attorney Mark Lambert said they could, as there was no request for a response.

 

“As I said in my memo, (FHWA) couldn’t explain to me how they had jurisdiction over city streets, they were unaware of any penalties, and said they were still research that,” Lambert said. “Frankly, I think that according to the manual itself, there’s a good argument we’re not violating the manual, since there’s no prohibition on colors.”

 

Surprisingly, the Feds made no reference to the fact that the crosswalks can turn kids gay. Wait till they find out!