Press Release: Gov. Evers Raises Progress Pride Flag Over State Capitol Building, Celebrates LGBTQ Wisconsinites and Pride Month During 2026 the Year of the Neighbor

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 06/01/2026 11:45 AM CDT
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 1, 2026
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
Gov. Evers Raises Progress Pride Flag Over State Capitol Building, Celebrates LGBTQ Wisconsinites and Pride Month During 2026 the Year of the Neighbor
 
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today will raise the Progress Pride Flag over the East Wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building, celebrating LGBTQ Wisconsinites and kicking off Pride Month throughout the state of Wisconsin. Today marks the eighth and final time Gov. Evers will hoist the Pride Flag over the Wisconsin State Capitol building, which first became a tradition in Wisconsin in 2019 after Gov. Evers took office when he ordered the Rainbow Pride Flag to be flown over the Capitol for the first time in Wisconsin state history. The governor today released a video message to Wisconsinites celebrating Pride and LGBTQ kids and families across the state. Wisconsinites can also watch a live stream of the Pride Flag Raising event on the governor’s YouTube.

Gov. Evers, who is set to retire at the end of his second term, has long been a fierce advocate for and defender of the LGBTQ community during his time as governor, including banning discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity in state government as one of his first acts in office, fighting to end the discredited practice of conversion therapy, and vetoing handfuls of bills targeting transgender and gender non-conforming kids. Earlier this year, Gov. Evers declared 2026 the Year of the Neighbor, underscoring the importance of community, togetherness, and celebrating all the neighbors across the state that make Wisconsin the wonderful place it is to call home, including Wisconsin’s vibrant LGBTQ community.

Originally a tribute to the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, Pride Month has become an annual, month-long celebration in Wisconsin and throughout the United States to recognize LGBTQ history and the LGBTQ community. In 2019, Gov. Evers ordered the Rainbow Pride Flag to fly over the East Wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol for the very first time in state history. In the years since, the state has moved to raising the Progress Pride Flag, which was created to symbolize the inclusion of marginalized communities within the LGBTQ community. The Progress Pride Flag includes additional stripes forming a chevron pattern that represent LGBTQ individuals of color and the transgender community, as well as those who are living with and who have been lost to HIV/AIDS. Gov. Evers has once again ordered the Progress Pride Flag to fly over the East Wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol this year.

The Progress Pride Flag will fly over the East Wing of the State Capitol building until sunset on Tues., June 30, 2026. Additionally, Executive Order #297 authorizes state buildings and any jurisdiction of the state of Wisconsin to fly the Progress Pride Flag during the month of June.

The Progress Pride Flag will not disrupt other flags that regularly fly over the State Capitol building. The U.S. flag and Wisconsin state flag will continue flying on the East Wing flagpole above the Progress Pride Flag. The POW-MIA flag will continue flying on the North Wing flagpole as it does every day.

Gov. Evers also proclaimed June 2026 as “LGBTQ Pride Month” throughout the state of Wisconsin.

The governor’s video message recognizing Pride Month is available for use below. A full transcript of the video message is also available below.

Gov. Evers Video Message to LGBTQ Wisconsinites

Hey there! Governor Tony Evers here, and I am jazzed as hell to join in celebrating Pride Month across Wisconsin. 

 

This annual celebration is a culmination of decades of advocacy, activism, dedication, and understanding for folks and neighbors across the state and country. 

From the Black Nite Brawl in Milwaukee to passing the first law in the nation banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to electing the first openly LGBTQ woman to Congress, in Wisconsin, we have a proud history of LGBTQ advocacy and trailblazers.  

And we cannot, and we will not let that progress falter.  

 

I promised long ago that I would always fight to protect LGBTQ Wisconsinites with every tool and every power I have, and I’ll never stop keeping that promise. 

Folks, we celebrate Pride today and this month—and every day, frankly—because we know what’s at stake. 


There are those who want to revise and rewrite this important history so they can create a new story for our state and our country. 

 

They pretend that trans and queer folks weren’t there at Stonewall. 

 

They tell trans folks and veterans willing to fight and die for our freedom—and theirs—that their patriotism isn’t wanted and never mattered. 

 

They remove books from shelves across the country because they tell stories of love, inclusion, diversity, and strength.

Here in Wisconsin, we only know one direction, folks, and that’s Forward. We’ve always led the way in the fight for LGBTQ liberty and equality—and we sure as heck aren’t going to turn back the clock now. 


I’ve been darn proud to veto every piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation that Republicans have sent to my desk and to use my executive powers to protect our trans and nonbinary kids.

And each year, I am proud to raise the Progress Flag over the Wisconsin State Capitol as a reminder of not only how far we’ve come, but how far we have to go. 

I declared 2026 the Year of the Neighbor in Wisconsin because I want to spend the next year celebrating the neighbors who make Wisconsin a great place it is to call home—like all of you. 

 

I want to celebrate the folks who love freely, live in their most authentic self, and welcome everyone to be who they were born to be.

So, no matter who you are, who you love, and how you express your truest self, you are family here. You belong here. You’re welcome home here.

Happy Pride Month, Wisconsin! 
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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