Salt Lake City adopts new banners, sidestepping pride flag ban
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall poses in front of the new adopted city flags. (Courtesy of Salt Lake City)
Hours before a pride flag ban took effect in Utah, three new official Salt Lake City flags emerged, all featuring the white sego lily that's already present in the city banner, but with a few notable substitutions.
One features rainbow colors, similar to the LGBTQ+ flag; another one, light blue, pink and white stripes, similar to the transgender flag; and the last, a bursting star, emulating the Juneteenth flag.
It was already a busy night for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who was scheduled to present her budget proposal to the City Council on Tuesday evening, but with a looming deadline for a new law prohibiting nearly all flags, the council amended its agenda to include a discussion to allow the new city banners.
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But, by turning the pride, transgender and Juneteenth banners into official municipal symbols, the city could sidestep the policy.
'As mayor, I have a duty to lawfully uphold the values of our nation, state and our city,' Mendenhall said. 'I know that the values of diversity, equity and inclusion are not only right and just, but they are fundamental to America, even through all its struggles to uphold them.'
The City Council embraced the change, voting unanimously to adopt the flags.
'It's not a coincidence that we have a majority of LGBTQ council,' council member Darin Mano said. 'It's because this is the place within not just Utah, but within many states surrounding us, where people like us feel safe. And I think there's a reason why people like us feel safe to both live here and also raise our hand to be a leader of a community in Salt Lake City, and so this is important and critical for us as a city, but more importantly for the people that live here to know that Salt Lake City continues to be a safe space for everybody.'
Other council members commended the mayor for the bold move and called Tuesday a historic moment in the city.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Idaho, which passed a similar flag ban last month, the Boise City Council also voted Tuesday to adopt the pride banner as an official city flag.
This year the Utah Legislature passed HB77, a bill that prohibits schools and government entities from displaying flags unless they are allowed in a prescriptive list that includes the U.S. flag, the state flag, military flags, Olympic flags, college or university flags, and the flags of local cities. Gov. Spencer Cox allowed the bill to become law without his signature, effectively banning pride flags from being displayed in public buildings starting this Wednesday.
Legislative leaders expressed disappointment in the city's action with House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, calling it 'a clear waste of time and taxpayer resources.'
'This law is about keeping government spaces neutral and welcoming to all. Salt Lake City should focus on real issues, not political theatrics,' Schultz said in a statement.
Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, also described the mayor's decision as disappointing, saying it diverts time and resources 'away from real pressing community needs.'
'It's disappointing that Salt Lake City is diverting time and resources away from real pressing community needs in an attempt to bypass state law,' Adams said in a statement. 'The intent of this bill is to help ensure that government buildings remain neutral, focused on serving the public and welcoming to all.'
New official Salt Lake City flags, unveiled a few hours before the enactment of a law banning most flags from schools and other public buildings (Courtesy of Salt Lake City)
After the flags were unveiled, Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, made three montages of flags mocking Salt Lake City's action; one with a symbol of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an Israel flag, and one that reads 'MAGA Country.'
'Proud of Erin for being so inclusive with the new 365.25 flag initiative,' McCay wrote on X.
Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, the main sponsor of the bill, said in another post, 'Does Salt Lake City really want to play these games? Good luck!'
The remarks quickly made it to the City Council chambers with council member Victoria Petro challenging Utahns to demand better after reading the comments.
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'This is our future. We are the fastest growing state in the nation. We have 45 guaranteed legislative days a year, and more time was spent on flags and bike lanes in the capital city than homelessness or the drying Great Salt Lake. Demand better,' she said. 'This cannot be a policy arms race for one viewpoint, for one culture war side to triumph over another. Bad policy demands bad outcomes for that policy.'
Mendenhall said that it isn't new for the city, a blue dot, to be in conflict with the Legislature's Republican majority that approved HB77. However, the country is designed to be able to navigate conflict, she added.
'We can decide to disagree respectfully or disagree better, as our good governor often says,' she said.
The passage of the bill, she said, made city officials reflect on whether the regular blue and white Salt Lake City banner represents Utah's capital. Instead of flying a single flag, the city would represent its values with banners that have normally flown every year of her administration.
'I have given this so much thought, and I do not do this lightly, and my sincere intent is not to provoke or cause division,' Mendenhall said. 'My intent is to represent our city's values and honor our dear diverse residents who make up this beautiful city and the legacy of pain and progress that they have endured.'
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