John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN Opinion who focuses on climate change and social justice. Follow him on Snapchat , Facebook and email . The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

Less than a week after the massacre of 49 people at a gay bar in Orlando, Florida, officials in nearby Tampa raised the rainbow flag -- a symbol of LGBT pride -- in solidarity with victims.

That didn't sit well with some Hillsborough County employees. One made an anonymous phone call to county Commissioner Stacy White, according to the Tampa Bay Times , saying the rainbow flag flying above the county government complex was "nearly unbearable" for her to see.

White suggested the flag is creating a "hostile work environment."

"I wish to state for the record that, even if there is deemed to be zero liability from an HR perspective, it is still -- in my view -- unconscionable that the county administrator didn't express to the board that this divisive symbol might create an uncomfortable workplace environment for many of his employees," White wrote in an email to the county's HR director, the report says.

Then there were the were numbingly familiar statements from conservative pastors.

"Hey, are you sad that 50 pedophiles were killed today?" Sacramento, California, pastor Roger Jimenez said from the pulpit the Sunday of the shooting. "No, I think that's great. I think that helps society. I think Orlando, Florida is a little safer tonight ... The tragedy is more of 'em didn't die."

But the case of the "nearly unbearable" LGBT pride flag is sadly worth highlighting because it says something about our country: Even in the wake of one of the deadliest mass shootings in history, one that specifically targeted members of the LGBT community, politicians and religious leaders are unable to offer unalloyed support.

For us LGBT Americans to truly be safe, we need broader acceptance (seeing our flag should at the very least be "bearable") and equal rights. Despite the outpouring of support after Orlando, it's become sadly apparent that we haven't made nearly enough progress as we'd hoped.

Aside from bigotry, what excuse is there for this legal lapse? And what message does it send to young LGBT people, who still commit suicide and face homelessness at outsize rates because of discrimination they face from parents and society?

On acceptance, too, we've made incredible strides. LGBT people are more visible now than ever in America. And as gay rights activists have known since at least the mid-1900s, visibility equals safety. (That's why "coming out" is seen as an act that's both personal and political.)

Yet homophobia and transphobia continue to be a scourge. We saw that on a truly horrific scale in Orlando last week. And then in a smaller way at the courthouse in Tampa. Both sentiments branch from the same tree. They set a group of people -- LGBT people -- apart as a less-human "other." Throughout history, it's been easier to justify taking rights from, slurring and perpetuating violence against people labeled as the "other."

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Platitudes need to be followed with real efforts to extinguish hate and change laws.

It's unclear what precisely motivated the Orlando shooter. But it certainly wasn't love or compassion -- two sentiments that are symbolized by that rainbow flag raised above a court complex in Tampa.

That flag is anything but a "divisive symbol." It's part of what makes America great.

Most Americans realize that. It's politicians and preachers who need to catch up.