--- description: The photo filter comes in direct response to Facebook's "Celebrate Pride" rainbow filter. title: A U.S. Flag Filter Is Being Used to Protest Gay Marriage image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LGBT](/tag/lgbt/) ## LGBT Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Americans Are Using a U.S. Flag Photo Filter to Protest the Gay Marriage Ruling by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2015 9:22 AM CUT by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2015 9:22 AM CUT Some Americans are using a web service by [Rightwingnews.com](http://rightwingnews.com/test/ "undefined") to add an American flag filter to their Facebook profile photos as part of the backlash against the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. The move is a direct response to Facebook’s “Celebrate Pride” rainbow filter, which allows users to show their support of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage on June 26\. Over [26 million people](http://t.co/WINhmATHew "undefined") implemented Facebook’s filter in the days after the ruling. > [](https://twitter.com/JonJayGroden/status/615721212635938817) > [](https://twitter.com/PatriotJackiB/status/615727814512263168) However, one Twitter user, [featured](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/people-are-american-flagging-their-facebook-profile-pictures-in-response-to-those-rainbow-flagging-them-10354488.html "undefined") in the _Independent_, pointed out that the Rainbow flag and the American flag are not mutually exclusive symbols. > [](https://twitter.com/nickmanes1/status/614948418151170048) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3941093/american-flag-filter-gay-marriage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3941093/american-flag-filter-gay-marriage/"},"headline":"Americans Are Using a U.S. Flag Photo Filter to Protest the Gay Marriage Ruling","datePublished":"2015-06-30T09:22:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:39:29.755Z","description":"The posts come in direct response to Facebook's \"Celebrate Pride\" rainbow filter","url":"https://time.com/3941093/american-flag-filter-gay-marriage/","keywords":["LGBT","russia","Social Media","facebook","U.S.","Homosexuality","Homophobia"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/lgbt/","name":"LGBT"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3941093/american-flag-filter-gay-marriage/","name":"Americans Are Using a U.S. Flag Photo Filter to Protest the Gay Marriage Ruling"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This is The History of the Rainbow Flag","description":"How the rainbow flag became an icon of LGBT rights","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bnTiT5cr/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-24T22:02:03.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bnTiT5cr.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3941093/american-flag-filter-gay-marriage/","duration":"PT1M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3941093/american-flag-filter-gay-marriage/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```