Speakers kick off Missoula Pride celebration encouraging action and engagement

MISSOULA — About 60 people rallied on the Missoula County Courthouse lawn Friday to kick off the weekend-long Missoula Pride celebration.

Speakers criticized recent state and federal legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community and encouraged engagement and action amid celebration.

“These laws are not about protecting children or protecting some skewed version of the American dream,” said Devin Carpenter, a co-director of Missoula Pride. “They’re about fear. They’re about control, and they’re about making us invisible. Pride has always been about resistance and about being visible and authentic. It’s about standing up to boldly assert that we will be treated with the respect and dignity that we deserve.”

Carpenter said “coordinated and escalating attacks” on the queer and trans community at the state and federal levels cause real harm, particularly to youth.

This session, the state Legislature passed bills restricting transgender and intersex Montanans’ access to public bathrooms and participation on athletic teams. A state district court judge last month ruled a 2023 state law banning many gender transition-related medical services for minors is unconstitutional.

However, local action is making an impact, Carpenter said.

Earlier this month, the Missoula City Council recognized the Pride flag as an official flag of the city in response to a new state law restricting the display of the flag on government property, including in public schools.

The Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners on Wednesday voted 11-1 to fly the Pride flag for the rest of the month after County Attorney Matthew Enrooth provided an opinion that Missoula’s action allows another county to lawfully fly the flag without needing to pass a separate resolution.

“These actions aren’t just symbolic,” Carpenter said. “They send a message across the state that our identities are not up for debate, that Pride belongs here, that teachers and public employees can keep their flags up and fly them with pride. That’s what Missoula Pride is all about. It’s not just a party. It’s a platform, a call to action, a declaration that queer people belong here in Missoula.”

Chase Hakes, with the coordination group Missoula Resists, told the crowd that Pride is both a celebration and the continuation of a generations-long struggle and movement. When the community shows up to fight back against harmful bills or in support of the city council adopting the Pride flag, it carries that legacy forward, he said.

“Let us stand firm against elected officials who try to legislate away our bodies and our lives,” Hakes said. “And let us remind them loudly and clearly that Montana’s Constitution is powerful, that it fiercely protects individual freedoms, and that those values are what matter to Montanans.”

Queer Prom Montana organizer Stacy Hunt highlighted the importance of providing accepting spaces for queer youth. The organization holds annual proms for adults and teens and youth activities throughout the year.

“Safe and joyful spaces do not just make life better for queer youth, they save lives,” Hunt said. “One accepting person, one welcoming room, one night to dance like yourself, that’s what keeps our kids here and keeps them hopeful. And each and every one of you is part of that critical safety net.”

Katie Carson, a member of the Queer Prom teen committee, said while recent laws try to erase, silence and scare the queer community, LGBTQ+ people are not going anywhere.

“This community is built on love, on courage and showing up for one another when we need it the most,” she said. “We’re not just fighting for rights. We’re fighting for friends, safe spaces, chosen families, ourselves. So let’s keep lifting each other up. Let’s make sure no one is left behind. Because equality is not optional. Not for our youth. Not for our future. Not for any of us.”

To close out the rally, Stevie Hirner, a transgender woman and director of choral activities at the University of Montana, led the crowd in songs of “hope, protest and love,” including “We Will Rock You,” “I’m Coming Out,” and “This is What Democracy Looks Like.”

“When it seems the world is coming down around us, it is easy to lean into our anger,” Hirner said. “And that anger is justified and needs to be heard. But so is our hope.”