For my latest reason to #BoycottIdaho, we have the state’s largest hospital system, St. Luke’s, refusing to fly the Pride flag next month during Pride month. St. Luke’s had always been a stalwart supporter of the LGBTQ community and had flown the Pride flag in the past years.
“In recent months, efforts to raise the Inclusive Progress Pride flag have become increasingly contentious. This has diverted attention to public debates about the flag rather than our intent in raising it — to signal that St. Luke’s is a welcoming environment for all.”—statement from St. Luke’s.
Flying the Pride flag has become “increasingly contentious” in Idaho, according to a press release from St. Luke’s. The contention has been that the homophobes in the state legislature are personally offended when they see the Pride flag flying all over Boise. To rectify that situation, the Republican supermajority passed and the Republican governor signed a bill mandating that only official flags may fly at Idaho government builddings.
The mayor, Lauren MacLean, has been a thorn in the legislature’s side for representing the liberal (for Idaho) views of Boiseans who support LGBTQ people. She has proudly supported flying the Pride flag and in response to the anti-Pride flag law, she and the city council adopted the Pride flag as an official Boise city flag.
That’s where St. Luke’s comes in, claiming that their taking down the Pride flag is really meant to support LGBT people!
“To ensure our focus remains on being an inclusive, trusted health care partner for every person, we have made the difficult decision not to raise the Inclusive Progress Pride flag at our medical centers or plaza.”—statement from St. Luke’s.
Step back for a moment and imagine that an organization said that because it’s “increasingly contentious” whether the ongoing conflict in Gaza amounts to a genocide, that organization has chosen to take down the Israeli flag it had been flying since October 7, 2023, but that organization tells you its “focus remains” on being a “trusted health partner” for Jews? Or that it’s “increasingly contentious” that the U.S. military engaged in war crimes, so it’s chosen to no longer fly the POW/MIA Flag, but they tell you its “focus remains” on being a “trusted health partner” for veterans?
Remember that the state anti-Pride-flag law applies only to official government locations, of which the private St. Luke’s hospital chain is not. Nothing in law is forcing them to remove the Pride flag, only their cowardice in standing up to elected homophobes.
