(LifeSiteNews) — Utah is the first state in the nation to ban LGBTQ+ rainbow pride flags in both public schools and other government buildings after Gov. Spencer Cox allowed HB77 to pass into law, neither signing it — which could convey support — nor vetoing it.
The ban is slated to go into effect on May 7.
According to the legislation’s sponsors, GOP Reps. Trevor Lee and Daniel McCay, the intent of the ban is to encourage “political neutrality” in the state’s classrooms and elsewhere in government facilities.
As such, any political flag — including MAGA “Make America Great Again” flags — will no longer be permitted either in classrooms or on government property.
Under the new law, the United States flag, the Utah state flag, military flags, Olympic and Paralympic flags, official college or university flags, tribal flags and historic versions of other approved flags serving educational purposes are allowed to be displayed.
Similar measures are being considered in statehouses across the country, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida and North Carolina.
Idaho recently passed a law banning inappropriate flags — including the LGBTQ+ pride flag — in schools, but that bill didn’t address flags displayed in other government buildings.
“As tired as Utahns are of politically divisive symbols, I think they are also tired of culture war bills that don’t solve the problems they intend to fix,” Gov. Cox wrote to lawmakers on Thursday.
“In an attempt to make some kids feel more welcome, other kids feel less welcome,” said Cox, who asserted that despite his agreement that schools should be “apolitical,” the bill would fall short of achieving its goal.
“By simply requiring the removal of flags only, there is little preventing countless other displays — posters, signs, drawings, furniture — from entering the classroom,” the governor said. “To those legislators who supported this bill, I’m sure it will not fix what you are trying to fix.”
Others resented the enactment of the law, seeing it as restricting the unbounded freedom that LGBTQ+ activists and other woke identity Marxists have enjoyed and exploited in recent years.
“Make no mistake — this isn’t about flags; it’s about advancing an agenda aimed at erasing LGBTQ+ Utahns from public life,” insisted Aaron Welcher, the ACLU Utah’s director of communications.
“Today it’s Pride flags. Tomorrow, it’s your freedom on the chopping block,” Welcher ominously predicted.
During testimony in advance of the measure’s passing, pro-LGBTQ+ activists and students warned lawmakers “If you pass this, you will have queer blood on your hands.”
“There’s clear evidence schools are promoting one viewpoint over another,” said Utah Parents United, which supported the ban. Flags in schools should serve to “unite people.”
