When Josh Lee first came to Boise to interview for a senior pastor position at Boise First United Church of Christ, a progressive Christian congregation, he knew the environment would be a “little less inclusive” than his and his husband’s hometowns of New York and Chicago.
While walking through downtown Boise, one thing stood out.
“To walk past City Hall and look up and see that rainbow flag, I took a deep breath of relief,” Lee said. “Even though the state may have a very different stance, the city welcomed us in such an extravagant way.”
Boise First United Church of Christ was the first church in Idaho to become what Lee describes as “affirming.” In 1991, then-pastor Nancy Taylor hung a Pride flag outside the church, signaling a commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion.
“Most [members of the LGBTQ+ community] drive by a church and assume that they’re not welcomed, so the easiest way to communicate the opposite is to put a flag out front to say ‘I know in most churches you’re not welcome, but in this church, we roll a red carpet out to say all are welcome here,’” Lee said. “It meant a lot to see a city do that in their own way.”
On Transgender Day of Visibility, Pride flags that had flown in front of City Hall for over a decade were retired following Governor Brad Little’s signing of House Bill 561, which restricts the type of flags allowed to be hung on government property. Government entities that violate the law face a $2,000 civil penalty per flag, per day.
Lee criticized the timing, noting the bill was signed on a day meant to celebrate community.
“What a choice to sign those two bills on Transgender Day of Visibility,” Lee said, referring to the flag ban as well as House Bill 752, which criminalizes people who “knowingly and willfully” use a bathroom or changing room designated for the opposite sex. “There were so many bills that got passed in the House and in the Senate, and the Governor never signed them, [knowing the next day that] the bills he doesn’t sign or chooses to veto automatically become law. He chose to sign those two bills, to put his name on them and endorse them.”
Just days later, the city responded by wrapping the City Hall’s flagpoles in Pride colors, installing a window display that reads ‘Creating a city for everyone” and illuminating the building with the colors of the transgender Pride flag.
The window display and flagpole decals cost $5,931.87, according to a city spokesperson.
“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,” Mayor Lauren McLean said in a statement to The Arbiter.
Before the decals went up, Lee discussed a potential workaround with the mayor’s office of purchasing the plot of land where the flags once stood. Because the church is not a government entity, HB 561 would not apply.
He compared this possibility to the Boise Junior Chamber of Commerce’s ownership over the strip of land Table Rock’s 60-foot steel cross sits on and how the 10 Commandments are on display in front of many United States courthouses.
While he’s not sure if this action is necessary after the city’s response, he believes this is a roundabout way cities can approach restrictions on expression.
“Acts of cruel indecency require nonviolent, creative responses,” Lee said.
Preston Pace and Bonnie Violet Quintana, co-founders of Trans Joy Boise, believe while the decision to decorate the City Hall is a “great show of solidarity and defiance,” it leaves them wondering how the city will continue to protect the LGBTQ+ community — specifically those who identify as transgender and nonbinary.
“I’m so appreciative of [the mayor] taking such a bold stance, because that is so rare not only in this state or city, but this country. It’s incredibly brave.” Pace said. “I also believe she has the power to carry this momentum and do more for us, because she’s established herself as a champion for [the LGBTQ+ community’s] rights. I’d like to see what she does with that moving forward, because she has a whole city of people looking to her for action.”
Governor Brad Little and Representative Ted Hill, the sponsor of HB 561, did not respond to The Arbiter’s request for comment in time for publication.
