A Utah lawmaker wants to change the name of a street that currently honors a key LGBTQ+ figure to instead honor Charlie Kirk.
Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay individuals to hold elected office in the U.S. before he was assassinated in 1978. Nearly a decade ago, Salt Lake City renamed 20 blocks of 900 South to Harvey Milk Boulevard to honor him.
Under the proposed bill, 900 South would instead be designated as Charlie Kirk Boulevard. Cities would also no longer have “sole jurisdiction” over naming municipal roads.
Representative Trevor Lee, a Republican from Layton and sponsor of the bill, argued Kirk had more of a connection to Utah than Milk after being assassinated in the state.
Last year, Lee sponsored legislation banning Pride flags from government buildings. Before running for the legislature, he made posts attacking the LGBTQ+ community and criticizing the use of pride flags.
Opponents of the bill, including some residents and local merchants, argued it was another attack on the LGBTQ+ community and would disrupt the character of the area.
Coul member Chris Wharton expressed concern to ABC4 about the bill also undermining local control, as the legislature has never imposed the name of a road on a city before.
Equality Utah put out a petition opposing the renaming efforts. As of Tuesday, it had been signed by 3,000 people, including about 140 business and property owners and residents along Harvey Milk Boulevard.
