Utah Bans the Pride Flag
Local governments, schools, and other public buildings will be fined $500 per day if they fly or display the Pride flag.
Utah is the first state to ban the LGBTQ Pride flag from schools and all government buildings.
Republican lawmakers pushed for the bill, declaring that it was needed to encourage “political neutrality” from teachers and other government employees.
But State Rep. Trevor Lee (R-Layton), the House sponsor, specifically singled out Pride flags as a representation of a political “ideology” rather than a symbol of identity.
Under the law, which takes effect on May 7, entities allowing the Pride flag — or any banners representing political ideologies or affiliations, including MAGA flags — will be fined $500 daily.
Flags permitted to be displayed in or flown outside government buildings and schools include the American flag, the Utah state flag, military flags, the Olympic and Paralympic flags, college or university flags, tribal flags, and historic versions of other approved flags that might be used for educational purposes.
“Taxpayer-funded entities shouldn’t be promoting political agendas,” Lee said on social media after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) allowed it to become law without his signature. “This is a massive win for Utah.”
Governor Cox explained in an open letter that he had “serious concerns” about the bill but allowed it to become law without his signature because the Republican-dominated legislature would have overridden any veto he issued.
Cox also expressed support for the idea behind the bill, especially as it pertains to schools — based on Republican orthodoxy claiming that merely existing as an LGBTQ person is a “political act,” rather than a fact of nature.
“I deeply believe that our classrooms need to be a place where everyone feels welcome — free from the politics that are fracturing our country,” he wrote. “Parents are rightly upset when they bring their kids to publicly funded schools and see culture-war symbols in a place that should be apolitical. I appreciate that the bill is neutral on the types of flags in question (and I find it strange that no headline reads ‘MAGA flags banned from classrooms’).”
Cox called on the Utah State Board of Education to pass policies that would ensure classrooms remain politically neutral environments. “The idea that kids can only feel welcome in a school if a teacher puts up a rainbow flag is just wrong,” he added.
Cox noted that the bill only targeted flags and not posters, signs, drawings, or other items with political references from classrooms. He also said he believes the bill goes too far as it pertains to local government buildings.
“While I think it’s wrong for city and county officials to fly divisive flags, I believe that elections have consequences and the best way to stop that behavior is to elect people who believe differently,” he wrote. “All this bill does is add more fuel to the fire, and I suspect it will only ratchet up the creative use of political symbolism (for example: lighting used in place of flags).”
Cox attempted to offer an olive branch to members of an incensed LGBTQ community.
“Politics can be a bit of a blood sport at times and I know we’ve had our disagreements,” the governor wrote. “I want you to know that I love and appreciate you and I am grateful that you are part of our state. I know these words may ring hollow to many of you, but please know that I mean them sincerely.”
Cox’s decision came hours after the Sundance Film Festival announced its relocation from Park City, Utah, to Boulder, Colorado. Although festival leaders said that politics did not influence the move, they did make “ethos and equity values” one of the criteria to consider in picking a new host city, referring to Boulder as a “welcoming environment,” reports the Associated Press.
A law nearly identical to Utah’s has been proposed in Florida, where it stands a good chance of passing.
Equality Utah, the statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, tried to lobby for language reaffirming protections against discrimination for LGBTQ students. It successfully removed a provision that would have allowed litigious parents to sue teachers for displaying Pride flags in classrooms. It regards the ban as unlawful.
“It sets a dangerous precedent that the state can silence the speech rights of local governments and makes the bill constitutionally suspect,” the organization said in a statement. “We are LGBTQ Utahns. This is our home. This is our country. We are not going anywhere.”
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