Zions Bank has pulled its sponsorship of Idaho’s Boise Pride over its controversial drag show featuring children.
The small bank announced Wednesday that it will no longer be featured in the event, set for the weekend of Sept 9-11. It has previously sponsored a number of Pride events across the 10 states it services, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
“When we committed to our sponsorship of this year’s Boise Pride event, we were unaware of the event’s activities involving children/minors,” the bank wrote in a tweet. “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 with event organizers.”
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https://twitter.com/ZionsBank/status/1567608336950136834This announcement came hours after the chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party, Dorothy Moon, brought attention to the inclusion of children in a written statement Wednesday.
“Out-of-state companies promise to bring investment and jobs to Idaho. Instead, they are financing the sexualization of our children and the perverse idea that children should engage in sexual performances with adult entertainers,” Moon wrote in reference to the event’s sponsors.
“I call all on concerned Idahoans — and the lobbying groups that represent many of these out-of-state businesses who seek tax benefits and subsidies from our legislators including [the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry] — to disavow this attack on Idaho’s children and to invest their sponsorship dollars in the Boise Rescue Mission that serves families, women fleeing abuse, and disadvantaged children,” she said.
Boise Pride submitted a statement of its own, defending the drag show while pointing out that minors have been involved in previous years.
“The drag kids performance is a celebration of self-expression and confidence,” it wrote in a Facebook post. “The only perversion and sexualization of this performance are coming from extremists and people like Dorothy Moon, who are twisting it into something it is not.”
https://twitter.com/boisepride/status/1567630395075694592
Idaho’s capital has hosted a Pride event for the past 32 years, and it is the second-largest event of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, according to Boise Mayor Lauren McLean.
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Zions Bank was founded by Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It got its name from the hill of Jerusalem on which the city of David was built and the religion’s principle that a similar city will be erected someday.
