Utah Just Became The First State To Ban Pride Flags In Public Schools And Government Buildings
The new law, backed by the Republican state legislature, will fine any government building, including public schools, that flies “unsanctioned” flags.
For the past five years, Utah’s state and local Capitol buildings have flown pride flags throughout June, celebrating the state’s LGBTQ+ community. Thanks to Republican state legislators, that tradition will soon come to an end. On Saturday, Utah’s state legislature approved HB77, a measure that will ban all “non-sanctioned” flags in government buildings, including public schools. Though other Republican-controlled states have attempted similar measures, Utah is the first in the country to completely ban pride flags from public buildings.
The law takes effect on May 7, at which point any government building—state or local—flying a flag that has not been pre-approved by the state legislature will be fined $500 a day until it’s removed. On the list of pre-approved flags are the US flag, the Utah state flag, and select others, including various military flags, city flags, some college and university flags, Olympic flags, and flags representing Utah’s Indigenous nations. In addition to the pride flag, any flags bearing references to specific political candidates will be expressly prohibited.
Utah’s bill may be historic, but it’s not the first state to enact—or attempt—a ban of this kind. Just last week, the Republican-controlled state legislature in Idaho passed a similar bill, banning pride flags in public schools. While Utah’s version of the bill is more extreme, Idaho Republicans are quickly catching up, having already advanced a second bill to ban pride flags in all government buildings, not just schools. Similarly, state Republicans in Florida have introduced a bill that would ban any flag representing a “political viewpoint” from schools and public buildings—their third attempt to enact such a ban.
Averting direct responsibility for the ban, Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox allowed the bill to become law without his signature. In a letter to state lawmakers, Cox claimed that while he has significant concerns about the policy, vetoing the bill would be ineffective, as the Republican-controlled state legislature would likely quickly override his decision. Cox vetoed a different Republican-backed bill, SB 296, which alters the process for electing Utah’s Chief Justice, just last week.
Outlining his concerns with HB77 in his letter, Cox wrote that he agreed with the bill’s “underlying intent,” but thought it was both too extreme in its restrictions on local governments and too narrow in focusing solely on flags while ignoring other display objects, like posters.
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Indeed, the flag ban seems to be the latest in a long line of anti-LGBTQ+ policies stirring tensions between state legislators and Cox, who has moved increasingly to the right on queer and trans issues in recent years. In 2022, Cox vetoed a bill banning trans girls from public school sports, though the state legislature quickly overturned his decision. By the following year, however, the governor had fallen in line with state republicans on trans issues, signing a near-total ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans children. Since then, he’s also enacted a bathroom ban that criminalizes trans people using restrooms that differentiate from their assigned sex at birth. More recently, Cox signed a law banning trans students from residing in dorms that match their gender identities on public college campuses.
Some of Cox’s reservations surrounding the bill may be tied to concerns about the Sundance Film Festival, which recently found a new home in Boulder, Colorado, after deciding to leave Park City, where the festival has taken place since its inception in 1978. However, the festival’s organizers have said they weren’t influenced by state politics.
In reaction to the pride flag ban, protesters flocked to Salt Lake City to show solidarity with Utah’s LGBTQ+ community while celebrating Trans Day of Visibility. In a demonstration organized by Utah Pride Center, protesters unrolled a 200-foot-long trans pride flag across the state capitol’s front lawn. Some local lawmakers also took a stand, including Salt Lake City mayor Erin Mendenhall, who quickly ordered the pride flag raised in the city’s capitol building. Mendenhall also told local outlet Fox 13 News that the city’s lawyers were considering suing the state to halt the ban.
In the same letter where he outlined his concerns about the law, Cox concluded with a bizarre statement of solidarity with Utah’s LGBTQ+ population. Addressing the community directly, Cox wrote, “I know that recent legislation has been difficult… Politics can be a bit of a blood sport at times, and I know we’ve had our disagreements. I want you to know that I love and appreciate you, and I am grateful that you are part of our state.”
