West Hollywood has responded to criticism for flying the Progress Pride flag and transgender flag at half-staff in response to the killing of Charlie Kirk.The California city, known for its sizable LGBTQ+ population, released a statement Sunday saying that lowering its flags was not an endorsement of the late anti-LGBTQ+ activist, who was assassinated Wednesday at a Utah university, but rather an act of policy that follows the directives of presidential proclamations."The Citys action should not be interpreted as an expression of alignment with, or endorsement of, Mr. Kirks political views or actions. Rather, the action was undertaken in accordance with the Citys Policy for Recognitions and Memorials, which acknowledges that the City follows the direction of the President in determining when flags in the City are flown at half-staff," read the statement, according to WeHo Times, a local outlet. In its statement, the city added that it would revisit this flag policy "in the coming weeks" in order "to ensure that it appropriately reflects the values of the West Hollywood community."Kirk had a long history of using his platform as a right-wing influencer to attack the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender people. And the city's move to lower Pride flags in its Matthew Shepard Square sparked sizable backlash when the WeHo Times posted a video of the flags to its Instagram account Saturday. "This is wild!! Im all for empathy but this is just ridiculous," wrote transgender performer Laganja Estranja. "He hated us, raise our flags back up!!" Added Willam, "Why are we as a people in WeHo listening to Trump?" The RuPaul's Drag Race alumni made headlines last weekend advocating for transgender people at the VMAs in a performance by Sabrina Carpenter.A sign left near the flags Sunday read, "Shame on West Hollywood for lowering our flags in honor of a racist, transphobic, homophobic, Nazi-loving monster." View this post on Instagram A post shared by WeHoTimes (@weho_times)President Trump issued a proclamation Wednesday that ordered flag-lowering on "all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories and possessions until sunset, September 14, 2025."Notably, the states of New York and New Jersey did not follow the flag directive, drawing the ire of conservative critics.The act of publicly mourning the late Trump confidant and founder of Turning Point USA, a key group for conservative youth outreach, has emerged as a political litmus test. Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth drew much queer criticism for commenting on Instagram that she "didnt always agree but appreciated some perspectives" of Kirk and that he must now be in "heaven." And Stephen King was pressured to apologize for noting on X that Kirk advocated for stoning gay people even though Kirk indeed stated that stoning gays was "'God's perfect law."