Activists unleashed a 200-foot long trans pride flag in Salt Lake City last week after Utah became the first state to ban Pride flags in schools and government buildings.
On March 30, thousands of LGBTQ+ people and allies flooded the streets outside the state Capitol to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility and to protest the recent legislation.
With the approval of Republican governor Spencer Cox, anyone displaying a pride flag outside a school or government facility will be fined up to $500 as of May 7.
Cox has previously disagreed with the bill’s rhetoric, according to Pink News, but failed to veto it when it crossed his desk, explaining his veto would be overridden by the state’s Republican-majority legislature.
Cox said he was “deeply disappointed” in the bill’s contents, and continued to say: “I deeply believe that our classrooms need to be a place where everyone feels welcome – free from the politics that are fracturing our country.”
City buildings that previously displayed Pride flags every June will now face a penalty for doing so. However, AP News reports that local leaders have illuminated the Salt Lake City and County Building in rainbow lights to protest the ban each night since it was sent to Cox’s desk.
Protestors carried the trans flag through the streets of Salt Lake City to show their support for trans people throughout the state. Utah Pride Center executive director Chad Call told local news outlet KSLTV “Even though our governments may not be able to fly Pride flags or trans flags, we can.”
“Events like this are really important to let people in our community and in the trans community know that there are people there that support them, that are there to fight for them and care about them, and that they’ll show up in incredible numbers,” Call said.
According to Equaldex, being trans in Utah is still protected, and LGBTQ+ people have housing, discrimination, adoption protections and more, but with some freedoms of LGBTQ+ expression already under attack, these protections may be at stake.
Various conservative states are considering legislation that would impose similar bans. In March, Idaho passed a law banning various flags at schools and is pushing a separate bill to do the same in government buildings. Florida lawmakers are also pushing proposals to ban pride flags at schools and public buildings.
