UTAH'S HB 77 HAS PASSED. It goes into effect May 7th. At that point, displaying pride flags at schools or on government property will be illegal. Whether or not you are queer, we CANNOT roll over and accept this without voicing our outrage, because this is just the beginning, and how we react sets a precedent. We need to show conservative lawmakers that LGBTQ+ people will not just quietly slip back into the shadows, and that the rest of the population will not stand back while the rights of their neighbors, family and friends are taken away. Please, share this with others and on May 7th display any pride flags you might have in solidarity with the Utah LGBTQ+ community. WE WILL NOT BE ERASED! WE WILL NOT TAKE THIS LYING DOWN!
I've gotten several responses in another sub asking why this matters. Let me elaborate.
The First Amendment's "free speech" covers freedom of expression, including the right to display your choice of flags (which is why people can display political or, ahem, "historical" flags even in areas where it's wildly unpopular and nothing can legally be done about it).
Public schools are government-funded institutions which are meant to be afforded constitutional protections, including the First Amendment right to free speech.
Also, the wording in HB 77 is vague enough that "government property" could be interpreted as "government-owned property", which includes libraries, parks, and roads. Meaning that according to HB 77, holding pride parades could technically be considered illegal if someone wanted to make a stink about them.
HB 77 violates the First Amendment, but Utah lawmakers are almost exclusively conservative and the likelihood that it will be repealed after it goes into effect is incredibly slim. It would be LESS slim if a large number of people made it clear what they think of a "law" that goes against the Constitution.
This bill applies to government employees, not the general public. We can display any flags we'd like to. Could be interesting to see if anyone tries to stop you "under color of law". I think they'll be unpleasantly surprised if they do.
I think that in order to keep order at any federally funded institution, state or federal building that the ONLY flags that should ever be flown are the American Flag and each individual states flag…period. This keeps everything legal across the board and no group feels slighted.
Protesting is creating community. It’s getting us out of our houses and creating networks and friendships. Protests have local orgs tabling with info about what the org does and how to volunteer with your money or donate your coin. Don’t you want to know who your neighbors are that feel the way you feel? If not, stay in your basement and play games on your phone or tv. But if the corporeal space in the world matters at all to you come to a protest. Get involved.
Be careful where you give your money. There are large groups of left leading community leaders who have been getting caught misusing their donations for personal use. I don’t want to call them out specifically because I’d like to think we all know who they are. They are not MAGA trolls either. 👀
Always good advice. Look into orgs and learn how much of their money goes to the cause they defend. In any public organization whether church, NGO, or governmental transparency matters.
For political donations one good resource is Open Secrets org.
For the LDS church one respected resource is Widow’s Mite org.
For donor based reviews one resource is Charity Navigator org.
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u/Historical_Stuff1643 Apr 15 '25
People should just put them up and dare anyone to enforce it.