SALT LAKE CITY, UT – September 16, 2022 – Following public comments from its corporate sponsor, Zions Bank, in response to the recent controversy surrounding the Boise Pride Festival, the Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce resolved to relocate its annual LGBTQ+ Economic Summit scheduled for September 22, 2022, from the Zions Bank Founders’ Room at its headquarters to the South Salt Lake City Community Opportunity Center (“Co-op”).

Earlier this month, Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, Chair of the Idaho Republican Party, publicly opposed planned youth programming at the Boise Pride Festival. Her office released several statements urging the public to contact festival sponsors to express their “disappointment” and “consider removing [their] financial support or patronage” of those sponsors. As a result, Zions Bank received many calls, texts, emails, and other communications, some threatening violence, condemning its support of Boise Pride.

Zions Bank issued the following statement on its Twitter feed in response:

Over the years, Zions Bank has supported a variety of Pride events because they are an important part of our support for our LGBTQ employees and allies and are representative of our efforts to foster an inclusive, diverse and equitable workplace and community. This support for all of our employees and communities remains unchanged. However, when we committed to our sponsorship of this year’s Boise Pride event, we were unaware of the event’s activities involving children/minors. Since learning of these specific activities, we have made the decision to withdraw our participation in this year’s Boise Pride event and have communicated this to the event organizers.

The Chamber and its members value Zions Bank’s strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and its support for many community organizations. However, we are deeply saddened by this decision that goes against Zion’s own standards and our expectations for our corporate partners.

Historically, one of the most pernicious weapons enemies of the LGBTQ+ community have used against us is to equate homosexuality (and later any non-heterosexual or -cisgender identities) to pedophilia. This rhetoric fell out of favor for a time but has come back in full force in recent years. Nationwide, LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse youth are under attack, and anyone who supports them is labeled a “groomer” or a pedophile. We see these attacks take the form of banning books, “Don’t Say Gay” laws, bans on gender-affirming medical care, trans sports bans, declaring parents’ support of trans kids to be child abuse, support for conversion therapy, etc., etc. Everywhere we look, anti-LGBTQ+ politicians, organizations, and individuals are working to stoke the flames of hate against us, and our youth are paying the price.

According to the 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and non-binary youth. Fourteen percent attempted suicide. That number rises to 20% for gender-diverse youth. Rates of violence, discrimination, homelessness, and poor mental health outcomes continue to increase.

Study after study confirms that the essential antidotes are affirming families and communities, affirming spaces, and LGBTQ+ representation. Youth programs at Pride events save lives.

Opportunities for kids to meet and see others like themselves are powerful. Providing a safe space for them to express and explore their identities is equally imperative. Youth without these opportunities turn to unsafe or harmful behaviors instead, up to and including self-harm and suicide.

Many members of our community experience daily persecution, violent threats, and harassing communications such as those Zions received. Rather than condemn these threats and harassment, Zions withdrew its support for Boise Pride. Whether intentionally or carelessly, Zions Bank’s public statements support the idea that being LGBTQ+ is wrong and that affirming our youth in their identities harms and corrupts them. These statements reinforced the disgusting and harmful dogma surrounding the controversy and taught our adversaries that violent tactics work.

We respect Zions’ concern for its employees’ safety. Every major public LGBTQ+ event faces these same safety concerns, addresses them the best they can with their limited resources, and cautiously proceeds. We take these calculated risks because we know from experience that letting our enemies push us back into obscurity threatens a much more severe loss of life. Our adversaries prefer that we die quietly in the closet. We refuse. Pride is a celebration of coming out of that darkness and choosing to live. That is why we must allow our children to participate. Pride saves lives.

We remain hopeful that Zions Bank will learn and improve from its recent mistakes. After much deliberation, our Board determined not to sever our relationship with Zions Bank at this time. Instead, we hope to continue working with Zions leadership to help them develop a culture of inclusion. We will, however, continue to evaluate our future relationship based on the outcomes of discussions with Zions.

In the meantime, we have determined that we must relocate our Annual Economic Summit from the Zions Bank headquarters to the South Salt Lake Co-op. The Chamber is committed to the safety and comfort of our speakers, attendees, and staff. We recognize that many in our community feel unsafe or uncomfortable participating in an event held at Zions headquarters under these circumstances. We appreciate the willingness of our event staff, other sponsors, and volunteers to overcome the challenges of this last-minute change in venue, and the South Salt Lake Co-op for their willingness to host us. Finally, we invite Zions leadership to attend and learn as a first step in the right direction.

We call upon Zions Bank, the Idaho Republican Party, and Rep. Moon to publicly condemn the violent threats against Boise Pride and the LGBTQ+ community. Legitimate political and social discourse can only take place in the absence of threats. We invite all to learn more about the issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and how to best support diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in their communities and organizations.

The Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce endeavors to be an invaluable resource for all LGBTQ+ and allied businesses and to foster the success of its members. The Chamber strives to create long-lasting partnerships between key organizations and businesses, ensuring both growth and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community and allies in Utah.

Since 2018, the Chamber’s annual Utah Economic Summit has been an opportunity for Chamber members, sponsors, and other allies and community members to gather to discuss issues facing LGBTQ+ and allied businesses and assist them as they strive to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in their respective organizations.

The South Salt Lake City Community Opportunity (“Co-op”) Center, housed inside the former Columbus Branch Library, is a place for the community to work and gather with access to the tools that can help them connect, advance, and support one another. 

The Co-Op is expressly designed to generate opportunities and enhance supports for populations who have experienced discrimination and disinvestment to promote greater equity in the community. It is co-located in a community center that also operates a senior center, recreation center, the SSL Chamber of Commerce, preschool, afterschool programs and family liaisons to offer services that meet the needs of the community and center patrons. The Co-op offers digital access, job and career support, and financial empowerment coaching.

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For more information, please see the official website of the Chamber at https://www.utahlgbtqchamber.org and the Economic Summit event page at https://www.utahlgbtqchamber.org/utah-lgbtq-economic-summit/

 The full results of the 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health available here: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/