The Advocate
Idaho barred government buildings from flying Pride flags. Now, officials in the state’s capital city are turning to lights, pole wraps, and public signage instead. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ + news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter. Boise City Hall installed a sign this week featuring an 11-stripe rainbow with the message: “Creating a city for everyone.” Local CBS affiliate KBOI reports that new colored accent lighting also illuminated the building in rainbow hues. Flagpoles, including ones that previously flew the Pride flag, are now wrapped in rainbow colors. City leaders point out that the art display is not a flag. "The art additions to city hall demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the people that call Boise home and to the values that we uphold every day of being a safe and welcoming city for everyone,” the city said in a statement to the station. Related : Idaho Republicans advance bill to impose hefty fines on cities flying Pride flags Related : Here's how Boise and Salt Lake City will fly Pride flags despite state bans After the GOP-controlled Idaho legislature passed a law last year prohibiting cities from flying any flags not on a list sanctioned by state law, Boise responded by adopting the rainbow icon as its official city flag to sidestep the restriction. But the Legislature, which meets blocks from City Hall, tightened the law this year, imposing fines of $2,000 per day, per flag, for any banners not specifically permitted. Idaho state Rep. Ted Hill, who sponsored the new law, included language explicitly barring any city flags adopted after 2023. He said Boise’s defiance prompted the punitive penalties. “That’s what this bill is about, specifically insubordinate government officials,” he said in a committee hearing, the Idaho Capital Sun reported. “It sets a tone of anarchy.” Related : Idaho Republicans are trying to strip localities of nondiscrimination ordinances that protect LGBTQ+ people Related : The Idaho legislature isn’t governing. It’s hunting transgender people Related : Idaho governor signs law making transgender bathroom use a felony Boise’s latest display, however, is not a flag. The lighting incorporates the six colors of the traditional Pride flag, the black and brown stripes associated with the Philadelphia Pride flag, and the pink, blue, and white of the transgender flag. The combined palette evokes the Progress Pride flag without replicating any single official design. After Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed the legislation imposing fines, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, a Democrat, posted a video saying that removing flags from flagpoles didn’t change the city’s attitudes toward inclusiveness. “To our LGBTQ family, friends and neighbors, you are an essential part of Boise,” she said. “You are welcome here. You are valued here, and no law can or will change that. In fact, it has only strengthened our resolve, because our values and our commitment run deep. We are and will remain a safe and welcoming city for everyone.”
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