Rep. Lee’s HB196 attempts to rename Harvey Milk Blvd for Charlie Kirk
A bill filed by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, that would rename Salt Lake City’s Harvey Milk Boulevard after conservative activist Charlie Kirk has reopened Utah’s culture-war politics and drawn swift pushback from LGBTQ+ advocates and city leaders.
HB 196 proposes to change the name of the downtown street honoring Harvey Milk, the slain gay rights pioneer and one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. The street, renamed a decade ago, has become a symbolic and literal hub of LGBTQ+ life in Salt Lake City, home to queer-owned businesses, nightlife, and community spaces.
Critics say the bill represents a broader attempt by state lawmakers to override local decisions and provoke political backlash.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, speaking on the Utah Legislative Session’s opening day with Utah News Dispatch, declined to stake out a firm position on Lee’s more controversial proposals, including HB 196. “But I will just say that the Legislature is not that one person,” Cox said. “We’re going to be working very closely with the Legislature to get this right, to still show the respect that every citizen of our state deserves, our transgender citizens who live here, our immigrants who are here.”
Cox appeared skeptical of the effort to rename Harvey Milk Boulevard, saying he expects lawmakers to respect decisions made at the municipal level and should show respect to “people in local municipalities who are making their own decisions, even if they’re decisions I disagree with.”
“If people want to get involved in municipal politics, they should run for municipal office,” Cox said.
Equality Utah responded to HB 196 with a sharply worded statement defending the street’s name and the history behind it. The organization noted that a decade ago, advocates worked to rename 20 blocks of downtown Salt Lake City after Milk, placing the boulevard alongside streets honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Cesar Chavez.
“Today, Harvey Milk Blvd is a beloved gayborhood — home to two gay clubs (one literally called Milk+), LGBTQ-owned businesses, and a whole lot of joy,” the statement read. “It’s proudly the gayest street in Utah… which makes it a curious choice to rename after Charlie Kirk.”
The group accused Lee of pursuing outrage rather than policy solutions.
“As for Trevor Lee — well, he enjoys stirring the pot. Outrage is his love language,” Equality Utah said, adding that Milk’s legacy has endured because of its meaning to the community. “Some things just endure.”
Equality Utah also rejected the framing of the bill as a zero-sum comparison between Milk and Kirk, arguing that if a conservative community wants to memorialize Kirk, it should do so locally. “We are not going to pit Charlie against Harvey,” the statement said, suggesting both figures would have relished spirited debate.
Latter-Gay Stories posted a story about Lee’s bill.
“So when Lee targets Harvey Milk — a gay man assassinated for serving openly and fighting for dignity — it doesn’t read as neutral policy. It reads as ideological payback,” the post read. “Rename the street. Rewrite the legacy. Signal who belongs and who doesn’t.”
“HB 196 isn’t about uniform signage or procedure. It’s about control. And this rename push isn’t about honoring anyone — it’s about reminding LGBTQ Utahns that their history can still be put up for debate,” it continued.
“Harvey Milk earned his place in history,” Equality Utah Executive Director Troy Williams said. “Trevor Lee, despite his yearning for our attention, isn’t destined for the history books. Frankly, he couldn’t even land his name on a cul-de-sac.”
