MAY 7, 2025 — The cities of Salt Lake City and Boise have adopted new city flags incorporating LGBTQ+ pride symbols in a direct challenge to new state laws in Utah and Idaho that ban unauthorized flag displays on government property, News10NBC reports.
Salt Lake City approved three new flag designs Tuesday that integrate the city’s emblem with the traditional Pride flag, the transgender flag, and the Juneteenth flag.
In Salt Lake City, Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the new flags reflect the city’s “values of inclusion and acceptance,” adding: “These flags reflect our shared humanity and the values that help everyone feel they belong — no matter their background, orientation or beliefs.”
The City Council unanimously approved the new flags, which feature the city’s signature sego lily overlaid on various pride flag designs, pictured here with the original flag, according to NBC News.
Boise, meanwhile, passed a resolution retroactively designating the Progress Pride flag and Donate Life flag as official city flags, thereby exempting them from Idaho’s restrictive new law, says BoiseDev.
The Boise City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday to endorse the resolution, after a packed and tense meeting marked by outbursts from attendees. Council member Meredith Stead said removing the Pride flag “would signal a retreat from values we’ve long upheld.”
Other cities are testing the limits of the bans in creative ways. In Bonners Ferry, Idaho, officials passed a resolution declaring every day a “special occasion” to justify flying the Canadian flag under an exception clause.
More than a dozen other states are reportedly considering similar flag restrictions.
Image: NBC News
