- Rep. Matt MacPherson proposes a bill he says will end a controversial fight over flags at city buildings.
- The bill aims to prevent "flag wars" and maintain political neutrality in schools and airports.
- Utah passed a bill last year that was widely seen as an effort to restrict cities from flying Pride flags.
SALT LAKE CITY — One year after the Utah Legislature limited which flags can be flown at government buildings — followed by Salt Lake City adopting several new flags trying to bypass it and the governor calling the whole controversy "dumb" — a Republican lawmaker has a proposal he hopes will bring down the temperature.
"It's actually trying to stop the dumb fights," Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, told KSL Friday. "When Salt Lake City adopted their additional flags, it was intended to circumvent the state law, and there's not really any argument over that."
Other cities have talked about adopting the Make America Great Again flag or other flags to basically start a "flag war" in the state, which MacPherson said "would be a very dumb thing to fight over right now."
Now MacPherson is sponsoring HB302, which would allow cities to only adopt one official flag, while preventing them from flying secondary "unofficial" flags in schools, courthouses and airports. Those secondary flags could still be adopted and flown in other places.
MacPherson said it's about keeping public spaces politically neutral, particularly as dignitaries and fans from around the world are set to descend on the Salt Lake City International Airport for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.
"There's some concern that just because one municipality owns our primary international airport in the state and it's our primary port of entry for those international visitors," MacPherson said, "and we want to keep that to more of a neutral content that's not very controversial."
The debate last year over flags became heated on Capitol Hill as lawmakers approved HB77, which was widely viewed as a ban on the Pride flag. Gov. Spencer Cox declined to sign it, calling it "one of the most divisive bills" of the 2025 legislative session. But it still became law since he didn't veto it.
Later, right before the law went into effect, Salt Lake City adopted three new official flags incorporating Juneteenth, Progress Pride and transgender themes. The governor reacted strongly to that — and to the whole issue.
"They're dumb flags, and it was a dumb bill," Cox told reporters last summer. "I'm sure they feel great that they got around this dumb law, and they did it with dumb flags. The whole thing is dumb."
Daniel Woodruff, KSLMacPherson acknowledged "clashing cultures" in Utah, especially as the state's demographics change. But he said certain state-regulated spaces should remain free from political symbols. He noted that the Salt Lake airport in October decided not to play a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in which she blamed Democrats for what would turn into the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
"We're just trying to enforce that same mechanism when it comes to these types of government-regulated displays," MacPherson said.
At this point, Salt Lake City does not appear opposed to MacPherson's proposal.
"We appreciate that the legislation recognizes the unique values of communities and the importance of local involvement," said Andrew Wittenberg, a spokesman for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
MacPherson isn't the only lawmaker looking to address the heated debate over city flags. Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Midvale, put forth his own proposal, which would maintain HB77's prohibition on certain flags in classrooms but allow them to fly at other city buildings.
"It's one thing to say, 'Hey, we don't want kids to have these types of flags in their classroom," he said. "And whether or not I agree, it is a different venue with kids, but these are adults. … If they want to put something in their personal office, I don't have a problem with it."
Stoddard said he's "talked with a lot of Republicans who are very supportive of it" and said their concerns with last year's bill stemmed from the prohibition of all but a few approved flags at all government buildings.
"Whether that translates into actual votes, I don't know, but I hope so," Stoddard said. "I think it would show a real good faith effort to make good with the community that gets a lot of hate during the legislative session."
Contributing: Carter Williams
