Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little has signed a bill into law penalizing local governments, including the city of Boise, for flying Pride flags on government property.
House Bill 561, sponsored by State Rep. Ted Hill (R-Eagle), prohibits any “governmental entity” — including counties, cities, and other political subdivisions — from displaying non-approved flags on public property. The bill defines “government property” as “land owned and maintained by [a] government entity, including buildings, adjoining land, parks, roads and boulevards.”
Approved flags include the American flag, official city or county flags designated prior to 2023, military branch or unit flags, the prisoner of war-missing in action (POW/MIA) flag, Native American tribal flags, a single college or university flag, and flags that are “not political, religious, or ideological in nature.”
Republican lawmakers argued that flags such as the Pride flag are not “viewpoint neutral” and instead convey a “political” or “ideological” message, warranting restriction. Under the law, localities that display non-approved flags face fines of $2,000 per day, with each flag treated as a separate violation.
The law directs the attorney general’s office to sue entities that display unapproved flags, but requires officials to notify localities of a violation and give them 10 days to comply before taking legal action. It includes an exemption for temporary parades or assemblies on government property, which are considered expressions of free speech.
Last year, the Boise City Council designated the Pride flag and the organ donor flag as official city flags in an effort to sidestep a state law aimed at prohibiting Pride flag displays.
Idaho Republicans are also advancing a separate bill — inspired by outrage over Boise’s actions — that would allow the attorney general’s office to temporarily disqualify local elected officials or government employees accused of “willfully” violating or circumventing state law.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho has blasted the new law, arguing that the ban on Pride flag displays amounts to censorship.
“Supporting the Pride flag communicates that all people, especially LGBTQ+ folks, have safety, value, and acceptance in our community,” the organization said in a statement. “Banning flags is a clear infringement on the First Amendment, and is a dangerous step toward controlling how people think and speak in public places.”
Minutes after Little signed the bill into law, Boise removed the Pride flag from the flagpole in front of City Hall.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean told the Idaho Capital Sun that it was clear that the law — which purports to apply to a host of non-approved flags — was deliberately targeting “one flag, and one flag only.”
Speaking to a group of citizens who assembled as the flag was taken down, McLean pushed back against Republican talking points that the Pride flag is somehow “political” or “ideological.” She also said that the law won’t change the LGBTQ-affirming values that city residents embrace.
Boise City Council President Meredith Stead said in a statement that the Pride flag is a “symbol of heritage, welcome, and safety.”
“We are taking it down because the law forces us to,” Stead said. “But our commitment to every person who has looked at that flag and felt seen does not waver for a single moment.”
USA Rugby recently announced that it will ban transgender women from female-designated teams while creating a third competitive "open" category intended to accommodate transgender athletes.
In a statement, the organization said the decision was driven by President Donald Trump's executive order opposing the inclusion of transgender women on female-designated sports teams.
USA Rugby said the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee determined the order applies to all National Governing Bodies (NBG) of sport. The committee warned that failure to comply could jeopardize the organization's NGB status.
A federal jury in Los Angeles has awarded $2 million to LaTisha Nixon, the mother of Gemmel Moore, a Black gay man who died after being given a lethal dose of methamphetamine during a "party and play" sex session with high-profile Democratic donor Ed Buck.
Following two days of testimony, eight jurors deliberated for about an hour before returning a unanimous verdict in the wrongful death lawsuit.
"I miss my son every single day," Nixon said in a statement. "This verdict doesn’t bring him back, but...it means closure for me. It means I can fully mourn now. I have not been able to mourn. I have been in fight mode for eight years."
Nepal has elected its first-ever transgender woman to parliament, with the election commission confirming last week that 37-year-old LGBTQ rights advocate Bhumika Shrestha will serve as a lawmaker from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, which secured 182 of 275 seats earlier this month.
In Nepal, voters cast two ballots in parliamentary elections: one elects 165 members from single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting, while the other fills 110 seats from party lists distributed proportionally based on the overall vote.
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