Boise vows to ‘take a stand’ against laws targeting Pride flags, trans people
Just hours after Boise was forced to take down its Pride flag, and on the day that Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bathroom bill targeting transgender people, the city proclaimed March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility.
On Tuesday evening, City Hall was lit in the Transgender Pride flag colors — light pink, baby blue and white.
Mayor Lauren McLean choked up during a special City Council meeting that afternoon where the proclamation was made. About 60 people filled the room.
“Many people in this state and around this country are seeking to divide us, they’re seeking to divide us by targeting the most vulnerable among us,” McLean said. “I want the people in this room to know that I see you. We see you. You are wanted, important and unique members of our community.”
Transgender Day of Visibility is celebrated around the country to raise awareness about transgender people, and McLean said officials wanted to recognize it in Boise — the capital city of a state where the Republican-dominated Legislature has consistently targeted the LGBTQ+ community.
As she spoke, each of the City Council members became emotional.
The Legislature passed a bill Friday that would make it a misdemeanor for someone to “knowingly and willfully” use a restroom or changing room that doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. The bill, signed Tuesday evening by Little, would apply to government-owned buildings and places of public accommodation. The law is set to take effect July 1.
Supporters said the legislation is needed to protect women and girls.
Arya Shae, the founder of Trans Affirm, a nonprofit that provides resources to transgender and nonbinary people around Idaho, including in rural parts of the state, told the Idaho Statesman at a rally Tuesday on the Capitol steps that lawmakers who voted for the legislation did so because they misunderstand and are scared of what it means to be transgender.
He said Trans Affirm has gotten hundreds of messages in the last week from transgender people asking for advice and help relocating.
“This is their home,” Shae said. “They’ve been here all their life. But a lot of folks now, they’re saying, ‘Well, where can I go?’ There’s a certain point where it’s like, what else can we do?”
Over 100 people attended the Transgender Day of Visibility event in front of the Capitol, where a gender-queer folk singer played music, a drag artist gave a performance, and several activists made speeches. One person carried a sign that said “Stay out of my stall.” Dozens of people waved Transgender Pride and Pride flags, the latter of which is characterized by the colors of the rainbow.
Just hours before the event, the city announced that it had taken down its Pride flag that hung for over a decade in front of City Hall.
Little signed another bill into law Tuesday that would fine local and state governments $2,000 a day for flying flags that aren’t on the Legislature’s pre-approved list, which includes the American flag, military flags, tribal flags and the official flags of Idaho colleges and universities, with some exceptions. Notably, it only allows city or county flags that were established as official flags before Jan. 1, 2023.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, said the bill was a direct response “to the local mayor.”
The City Council adopted the Pride flag as an official city flag in May 2025 as a workaround to a state law that banned the display of unofficial flags on government property.
McLean said in a news release Tuesday that the city would comply with the law because it levies a substantial penalty that would ultimately be paid by Boise taxpayers.
“Members of this community face bigotry, persecution, discrimination and violence,” she said during the proclamation. “In Idaho, the fundamental freedom of trans individuals to live visibly, to make private medical decisions, to use facilities — public facilities, and so much more, is increasingly under attack. The city of Boise remains dedicated to upholding fairness, dignity and opportunity for everyone.”
Council Member Jimmy Hallyburton vowed to “take a stand” against the flag ban.
“Today feels like a day of mourning,” he said. “Taking the flag down — it hurts a lot of people. Today can also be a day of strength, a day when we can lift each other up, where one flag can go down and 1,000 more flags can go back up, where we can make sure that everybody feels the right to be visible.”
Garrett Lamm, director of community partnerships with McLean’s office, told the Statesman at the event at the Capitol that the city’s values haven’t changed.
“These are values that we have had for a long time,” Lamm said. “People ask, ‘Why now?’ And I think that’s really a question for the Legislature.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 4:00 AM.
