HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-08-25 Public Comment - C. Warren - Public Comment –Pride FlagFrom:Chris Warren
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment –Pride Flag
Date:Tuesday, July 8, 2025 8:22:05 AM
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Hello Bozeman City Commission,
My name is Chris. I'm a renter over by the Dino Park, but I've lived in Bozeman for most of
my life. My husband was born and raised here. So when I email you, it is because I know whatmakes Bozeman Bozeman. The perfect little big town in Montana.
I am a teacher, a speech and debate coach, and a landscaper. My husband is a branch manager
at one of the biggest branches in this town. We love this place we call home, but recently it'sstarting to no longer feel like home. Not with what's happening at the state level and then the
lack of support at a city level.
But before I get into that, it should be known, that my husband and I are queer individuals. Wemoved away for 3 years to Billings but it was incredibly hostile and difficult to live there as
we are. So we moved home, trusting Bozeman to still be that perfect small town we grew upsupported by.
And I think for a while it was. I felt supported in the school district I worked for and my
husband felt supported when he spoke of his spouse at his branch. A large part of that was thepride flags that businesses flew, the acknowledgement from the City of Pride Month, and so
on.
You see, the pride flag is about so much more than just a pretty rainbow. It's a symbol that thebusiness I'm patronizing and the town I'm walking in sees me. Billings didn't have many pride
flags. It made me honestly scared for my life to wear anything rainbow because I wasn't sure ifpeople would see me and then hurt me for not succumbing to the status quo (or what they
perceived to be the status quo). So when we moved to Bozeman, I knew, I was safe. I knewmy classroom was a safe space. Now? With this state law and the refusal to even discuss the
adoption of the flag? I don't feel safe. I'm scared in the town I grew up knowing would shelterme and that's a gutwrenching feeling.
I just talked about my classroom and the impact of the flag in my room. To most kids, it's just
another piece of decor. But to my queer kids? It's a sign of safety. Of belonging. In my 6 yearsof teaching, every single year, I've had letters from students written thanking me for the
visibility. They thank me for making them feel seen and therefore keeping them alive. I hate tosound dramatic, but the reality is this isn't dramatic. Not flying these flags to show safe spaces
and belonging is going to result in dead kids and dead adults. Living out is hard, it is evenharder when our home doesn't feel the need to support us for fear of ruffling a few anti
LGBTQ+ feathers.So I end with this, if you want to ensure queer kids (those that are out and those that aren't) to
grow to queer adults and for queer people of all ages to feel like Bozeman is still a place wecan call home, ignore the hate groups trying to erase us, and recognize the pride flag.