Salt Lake City & Boise Adopt City Rainbow Flags To Workaround Pride Flag Bans

In response to state-level bans on LGBTQ+ Pride flags in government buildings, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, have adopted innovative strategies to continue displaying these symbols of inclusivity. In March, Utah became as the first state to outlaw the display of certain flags at all public educational institutions and government facilities, sparking anger among Democratic leaders and civil rights organizations within the state. This legislation forbids unauthorized flag displays and was broadly understood to prohibit flags that honor diverse communities in Salt Lake City. From NBC News:

Salt Lake City adopted three new city flags Tuesday, an effort to circumvent a new Utah law that effectively banned flying LGBTQ Pride and other flags at public buildings in the state.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall, a Democrat, presented the proposal to the City Council, which adopted it at its meeting Tuesday night. It incorporates the city’s flag into designs celebrating Juneteenth, LGBTQ rights and trans rights.

One of the proposed flags, dubbed the Sego Belonging Flag, is intended to honor the city’s LGBTQ residents, while another, which officials called the Sego Visibility Flag, is intended to recognize the city’s trans community.

The third proposed flag, dubbed the Sego Celebration Flag, is intended to honor the city’s Black residents, as well as the history surrounding the Juneteenth holiday.

And from the Idaho Statesman:

The Boise City Council made the Pride flag a city flag Tuesday to get around a new state law. The Legislature earlier this year banned most flags from flying on government property, but left an exception for “the official flag of a governmental entity.”

Five of Boise’s council members voted yes on the resolution — saying that everyone was welcome and safe in Boise. Luci Willits, the lone no vote, said she felt the city had to uphold the law and that constituents didn’t want the change.

One attendee at the Boise City Council meeting, a gay conservative man, said he was “born and raised here and I experienced a ton of homophobia in school. I don’t think any flag could ever fix that.”