Pride Flag – Photo: Sophie Popplewell via Unsplash
The Missoula City Council has drawn the ire of Republicans — including Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte — by sidestepping a state ban on Pride flags through a resolution declaring the LGBTQ Pride flag as an official city flag.
On June 2, the council voted 9-2 in favor of the resolution. According to city attorney Ryan Sudbury, speaking to Missoula-based NBC affiliate KECI, the city previously had no official flag.
“Currently, there is only one official flag for the City of Missoula, and that’s the Pride flag adopted last night. There was no prior official flag,” Sudbury told the news station.
The resolution was passed in direct response to a new law signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 13. The measure, approved by the Republican-led Montana Legislature, bans flags on state property — including public schools — that express a “political viewpoint, including but not limited to flags or banners regarding a political party, race, sexual orientation, gender or political ideology.”
However, the law includes exceptions for “official historical flags” such as the Gadsden flag and the Confederate flag. It also permits flags honoring law enforcement — like the “Thin Blue Line” flag — as well as military service flags and the POW/MIA flag. Flags of tribal nations, foreign countries, and official flags of counties, cities, or localities are also allowed — a loophole Missoula is using to sidestep the ban.
The council’s vote mirrors similar actions by the city governments of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, which have also worked around statewide Pride flag bans.
Ward 1 Councilmember Jennifer Savage, who sponsored the resolution, cited her daughter — a member of the LGBTQ community — as a key reason for introducing it. She added that the city may adopt additional official flags in the future.
“When I see the pride flag, I breathe a little sigh of relief and think my kid is safe here,” she said.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, fourth-grade teacher Petrea Torma spoke about Montana’s flag ban and how she was forced to remove a Pride flag from her classroom. She argued that the ban sends an implicit message to students that some people are not welcome or accepted.
“They have seen my flag up in my classroom all year, and last Friday, they had to walk in and realize that it’s gone,” Torma said.
Gov. Greg Gianforte later issued a statement blasting the liberal-leaning city council.
“[N]ine members of the Missoula City Council made clear their top priority is flying a divisive pride flag over government buildings and schools — all while ignoring the city’s housing affordability crisis, raising taxes by 17% because of overspending, and refusing to take firm action to end encampments in the city,” the governor said in a statement. “Missoulians deserve better, and fortunately, two council members voted against imposing this divisive, far-left agenda on their community.”
State Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R–Columbia Falls), who sponsored the Pride flag ban and has previously introduced anti-LGBTQ legislation — including a drag ban currently blocked by the courts — has already threatened to amend the law in the next legislative session to explicitly prohibit cities from naming Pride flags as official flags.
“Leave it to Missoula to try and turn a city flag into a pride flag. Nothing says ‘unity’ like politicizing public property,” Mitchell told KECI in an email. “The ultra far left Missoula City Council and their mayor are completely out of touch with reality and the values of the vast majority of Montanans.
“Taxpayer owned property should represent everyone, not just the loudest political movements of the moment. The pride flag, like any other political symbol, has no place replacing a city’s identity,” Mitchell continued. “This is exactly why we resoundingly passed HB819 to stop governments from hijacking public property to push ideology…. If they want to fly that flag, they can do it at home, not on the taxpayer’s pole.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with a group of parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, ruling that the county’s public school system violated their religious freedom by refusing to let them opt their children out of lessons featuring LGBTQ-themed books.
In a 6-3 decision, the court's conservative majority ruled that the government burdens parents' religious freedom by refusing to let them opt out of lessons featuring books that conflict with their beliefs opposing homosexuality or the existence of LGBTQ people.
The case, known as Mahmoud v. Taylor, involves three families of elementary school students -- one Muslim, one Catholic, and one Ukrainian Orthodox -- who sued over the lack of an opt-out, arguing it infringed on their right to freely exercise their religion and direct their children’s religious upbringing.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were upstaged by a gaggle of drag queens at the Kennedy Center Opera House during a performance of the French Revolution-set hit musical Les Misérables on Wednesday, June 11.
The couple’s appearance -- Trump’s first of the term at the historic venue -- coincided with a special fundraising night aimed at supporting the reportedly financially struggling arts institution.
According to the The Washington Post, ticket sales have slumped following Trump’s takeover of the storied institution, long considered a cornerstone of D.C.’s theater scene. Subscriptions for the upcoming season are down by $1.6 million -- roughly 36% -- compared to last year.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing provisions in a pair of anti-LGBTQ executive orders issued earlier this year that threatened to strip congressionally approved funding from LGBTQ service providers and health centers.
The provisions specifically target LGBTQ and HIV prevention organizations that engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or that promote so-called "gender ideology" by recognizing transgender identity as valid.
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