In early March of 2025 , Utah became the first state to ban displaying LGBTQ+ flags in government buildings along with schools. The Governor Spencer Cox passed the law without his signature with concerns of it being overwrote if he tried to issue a veto. To make matters even more complex any flags involved in any political instances were also banned, such as Trump’s’ Make America Great Again’ flags.
In a letter written by Gov. Spencer Cox, he voices his “serious concerns” about the passing of the bill. He states that “Parents are rightly upset when they bring their kids to publicly funded schools and see culture-war symbols in a place that should be apolitical,” in addition to him spating he supports “political neutrality” in classrooms.
Political rights groups also have started protests amid the passing of the bill. Supporters of the HB77, sponsored by Trevor Lee, posed an argument about the sudden banning stating that it was all for promoting “political neutrality” in government owned spaces. Along with Lees efforts to rally the decision other political rights groups such as “Equality Utah” tried to negotiate will the lawmakers which was mainly focused on the banning of flags in the classroom but not in government buildings.
