When House Bill 77 was passed on May 7, it outlawed many flags from being flown on government or state-funded buildings if they weren’t included on an approved list submitted with the bill. One of the flags that gained the most attention was that the pride flag was one of many that was made illegal to fly.
HB 77 Flag Display Amendments made it so that only specific flags could be flown on state or government properties, which include libraries, schools and banks. The allowed flags are the U.S. flag, a state flag, city flag, institutional flags, military and tribal flags, along with historic flags.
Historic flags, which are outlined in the bill as a historic version of a flag, are what Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall used to bring back the banned pride flags, allowing them to be flown in Salt Lake City but still within the bill’s constraints.
“Our city flags are powerful symbols representing Salt Lake City’s values. I want all Salt Lakers to look up at these flags and be reminded that we value diversity, equity and inclusion — leaving no doubt that we are united as a city and people, moving forward together,” Mendenhall said in an official press release from the mayor’s office.
Salt Lake City’s city flag is a blue and white flag that features a white Sego Lily in the top left corner. The Sego Lily is what makes the flag historic, with it having been Utah’s state flower since 1911.
The redesign of the pride flags has added the white Sego Lily to the top left corner, which makes these new flags historic, permitting their ability to be flown and aiding Mendenhall’s strive for diversity and inclusivity among Salt Lake City residents.
“While the state has restricted which flags public buildings can fly, I’m glad we can still uphold our community’s values within the law,” Salt Lake City council chair Chris Wharton said.
However, it is not just Salt Lake City that has made strides in finding ways to bring back the pride flags, even with a new design. Boise, Idaho, has made the pride flag an official city flag. By making this decision, Boise is making it nearly impossible to ban the pride flags from their state in any bills that may come forward.
The pride flag would have to be explicitly mentioned in a banning bill, which could then be overturned because the specific mention of the pride flag could be a hate crime.
While Salt Lake City and Boise have been able to find ways to keep the pride flag able to be flown, the updated Sego Lily pride flag cannot be flown in Ogden or on Weber State University’s campus.
Since the flag has been specifically redesigned to include a part of the official city flag from Salt Lake City, which is the white Sego Lily, it’s limited only to the capital city. The Sego Lily edition of the pride flag is only able to be flown in Salt Lake City because it has a historic part of the capital flag included on it.
Ogden would have to take part of their own flag and add that to a pride flag for it to be authorized to be flown throughout government and state-funded buildings in the city.
There is still no official statement that has been released on where Ogden stands on the decision.
