Democratic Gov. Tony Evers ordered the gay pride flag to rise over the Wisconsin Capitol on June 1 in a sign of support for the LGBTQ+ community for the fifth annual Pride Month celebration today.
This follows his signing of Executive Order #204, which orders the Rainbow Pride flag to be flown during June in celebration of Pride month.
According to a press release, Governor Tony Evers ordered the Pride flag to mark the importance of diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality. The flag which was raised in the presence of spectators will fly over the Capitol throughout the month of June in recognition of Pride month below the U.S. and the Wisconsin state flag.
“Flying the Progress Pride flag above our state Capitol sends an important signal about who Gov. Evers is, what this administration’s values are, and who we want to be as a state,” state Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) stated. “We are so grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate with all of you who have come out to join us today.”
The Village People’s “YMCA” and ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” played from speakers before the ceremony began. Spectators were decked in T-shirts that read “Be Kind” and “You Are Loved.”
Evers in his speech said the LGBTQ+ community was under attack and conservative rhetoric about the community has emboldened hate, and encouraged the LGBTQ to move over to the state.
“You belong here. You are welcome here,” Evers said to applause, adding a moment later: “It’s a signal that I will always stand with LGBTQ Wisconsinites, including our trans and gender non-conforming kids, and will fight to protect them with every tool and every power that I have.”
The Wisconsin State Governor has ordered a rainbow pride flag raised over the Capitol every June since he took office in 2019. Last year, he ordered the Progress Pride flag raised instead of the rainbow flag.
The Progress Pride flag is a variation of the rainbow flag – the difference being additional stripes and a chevron pattern that represent LGBTQ individuals of color, transgender individuals, and those living with or who have died of HIV or AIDS, according to Evers’ office. He chose to raise the Progress Pride flag again in 2023.
The prevalence of LGBTQ+ in Wisconsin has made the state a battleground – with the Republicans controlling the Legislature and a Democrat controlling the governor’s office. The Conservatives blasted the move in 2019, with GOP lawmakers calling it divisive and accusing Evers of advancing a political cause.
Republicans across the United States are set out to stop the LGBTQ+ community. Almost 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year and at least 18 states have passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
The Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly, Robin Vos said he believes a bill banning trans athletes from competing on women’s and girls’ teams would be introduced again this session.
Madison’s U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who has come out as gay, referred to the anti-LGBTQ+ bills as “heartbreaking attacks” in a tweet recognizing June as gay pride month.
“It’s going to take all of us this #PrideMonth and every month to counter these right-wing attacks so everyone — even a kid like me — grows up knowing they belong, and that kindness and inclusion, not hatred and division, are American values,” she tweeted.
While many citizens stood by Wisconsin’s Gov. Tony Evers on raising the pride flag over the state capitol to celebrate the LGBTQ+ price month, someone asked him when he was going to raise the ‘heterosexual flag”.