Gianforte blasts Missoula officials for adopting Pride flag as official banner
Gov. Greg Gianforte on Tuesday scolded local officials in Missoula for adopting the LGBTQIA Pride flag as an official city flag.
The Missoula City Council on Monday said it was adopting the flag in response to a bill Gianforte, a Republican, recently signed restricting certain flags from being flown on government property. The council exploited a potential loophole in that legislation, House Bill 819, which still allows “official flags” of municipalities to be raised.
The bill was sponsored by Columbia Falls Republican Rep. Braxton Mitchell, who also criticized the Missoula City Council in a statement to the Missoulian.
The governor was scheduled to be celebrating Freedom Week at Ryegate School on Tuesday afternoon when his office published the post on social media.
“Last night, nine members of the Missoula City Council made clear their top priority is flying a divisive pride flag over government buildings and schools — all while ignoring the city’s housing affordability crisis, raising taxes by 17% because of over spending and refusing to take firm action to end encampments in the city,” Gianforte said. “Missoulians deserve better, and fortunately, two council members voted against imposing this divisive, far-left agenda on their community.”
The city council voted 9-2 to approve the resolution written by Ward 1 Councilor Jennifer Savage. Like Boise and Salt Lake City — two municipal governments which passed similar measures after the adoption of laws resembling HB 819 — Missoula’s resolution made it an official flag among a roster of emblems. So while it’s not yet clear with what frequency the Pride flag will be planted in official city locations, Savage said in a phone interview on Tuesday the resolution allows city staff to display the Pride flag in their work spaces or local teachers to post the flag in their classrooms.
“The Pride flag is not divisive. House Bill 819 was divisive and it was clearly targeted at silencing marginalized groups,” Savage said. “As a Missoula City Council we have worked tirelessly on affordable housing and the homelessness crisis. We’ve worked hard to clean up encampments and address that issue that’s been before us for a while without much state support.
“The Pride flag symbolizes inclusion,” she added. “Inclusion is important, queer visibility is life saving, and out-loud allyship is the requirement for those of us who sit at the tables of power.”
Savage said the day following the city council’s vote had been “joyous,” with a largely positive response from the community and some measure of disagreement streaming mostly through social media and emails.
‘We won’t go back’: Missoula recognizes Pride flag in response to state law
“What I’ve seen is a ton of people being grateful that we took the issue on and we took it on quickly,” she said.
Not all city council members were on board with antagonizing the new state law. Ward 6 Councilor Sandra Vasecka said during Monday’s meeting that sponsoring the Pride flag would elevate a political viewpoint rather than the community at large, the Missoulian reported.
In Bozeman, Deputy Mayor Joey Morrison likewise criticized HB 819, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported, although no such resolution had appeared on the city’s Tuesday agenda.