Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during the 142nd IOC session at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 24, 2024 in Paris, France.
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Utah became the first state in the nation to ban Pride flags from public schools and government buildings when Republican Gov. Spencer Cox refused to sign a bill that prohibited the display of non-approved flags. The Beehive State took a second hit when Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival announced it was leaving its longtime Utah home and moving to neighboring Colorado. The move fulfilled a warning from critics who said the state’s hostile position on the new law might cause the festival to leave the state.
HB77 entitled Flag Display Amendments prohibits public schools or government entities from flying non-approved flags like the Pride flag. Under the new law, the state government can levy fines of $500 per violation per day against entities it found violated the law, although such a decision would be subject to judicial review.
Cox tried to placate both sides of the argument in his official letter to the legislature, explaining his actions on this and several other bills.
He said he found it “strange that no headline reads 'MAGA flags banned from classrooms'” but also said the bill did not go far enough to allow local schools to ensure neutrality in the classroom.
“By simply requiring the removal of flags only, there is little preventing countless other displays – posters, signs, drawings, furniture – from entering the classroom. Furthermore, the bill is overly prescriptive on flags themselves,” Cox wrote, warning, “To those legislators who supported this bill, I’m sure it will not fix what you are trying to fix.”
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He then sided with those criticizing the bill, saying the new law would only create further division in an already deeply divided state and nation.
“To our LGBTQ community, I know that recent legislation has been difficult. Politics can be a bit of a blood sport at times, and I know we have had our disagreements,” Cox wrote. “I want you to know that I love and appreciate you, and I am grateful that you are part of our state. I know these words may ring hollow to many of you, but please know that I mean them sincerely.”
The news hit Utah as Sundance announced it was moving its film festival to Colorado in 2027.
Equality Utah, which previously warned passage of the new law might cause the Sundance Film Festival to leave for more tolerant climes, decried the
“We feel a profound sense of loss that Sundance will no longer call Utah home,” the group posted to social media. “This departure leaves a void in our State’s cultural soul, particularly for LGBTQ Utahns, who found our struggles and triumphs mirrored in the festival’s courageous storytelling.”
Equality Utah had earlier warned the festival might leave if the new law was passed.
“A bill banning Pride flags from schools and government buildings is on Gov. Cox’s desk, and it could cost Utah the Sundance Film Festival,” the group warned earlier this month.
“For over 40 years, Sundance has called Utah home, bringing in over $130 million to the state’s economy in 2024 alone,” Equality Utah posted to Facebook. “But with Boulder and Cincinnati competing to host the festival, this leaves Utah on shaky ground.”
A group of Utahns unfurled a giant Pride flag on the state’s capital steps in protest of the bill.
The new law takes effect in May. It is unclear if there will be challenges to the new law in the courts.
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