Montana Enacts Ban On Pride Flags At Public Buildings

Helena’s NBC affiliate reports:

A new Montana law limits what flags can be flown on government property or at public schools. House Bill 819, sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, restricts any flags that “represent a political party, race, sexual orientation, gender or political ideology.” The law effectively bans Pride flags and other LGBTQ flags from being flown at schools or government buildings.

Language in the bill does allow flags like the Gadsden flag and other “official historical flags” to be flown. It also allows flags for law enforcement officers and fallen officers, like the “Thin Blue Line” flag, which Gov. Gianforte, R-Montana, flew above the Montana Capitol on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Rep. Pete Elverum, D-Helena, said under the language, a Confederate flag could be flown.

About the bill’s 24-year-old sponsor:

Unlike some of his older peers in the Montana House, Mitchell comes from a hard-right youth movement. In 2018, he organized pro-gun marches in opposition to some of his classmates’ “March for Our Lives” demonstrations. He joined Turning Point USA, a well-funded student club, and went on to become an ambassador for the group.

After Donald Trump disputed his 2020 election loss, Mitchell used Twitter to amplify a call for members of Congress to reject electors “from disputed states.”

He also tweeted a picture and video of the far-right paramilitary group the Proud Boys at the pro-Trump “Million MAGA March,” a Nov. 14 demonstration. During Mitchell’s campaign, screenshots circulated of him allegedly tweeting an anti-gay slur.

Mitchell last appeared here in 2023 when the governor signed his bill criminalizing Drag Story Hour.

New Montana law decides which flags fly in public schools.

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— The Pulp (@thepulp.org) May 23, 2025 at 5:15 PM