Lawmakers in Salt Lake City, Utah, have introduced legislation that would rename “Harvey Milk Boulevard” (located on 900 South) after Charlie Kirk.
This effort is currently receiving local pushback.
The specific bill, HB196, is being sponsored by State Representative Trevor Lee, and would limit “a municipality’s jurisdiction and control of a class C road to allow the Legislature to make a special designation of or name a class C road…” requiring the “coordination between the Department of Transportation and municipalities regarding the designation, naming, and signage of a class C road for which the Legislature has given a special designation or name.”
If passed, the bill would ultimately render 900 South as Charlie Kirk Boulevard.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, a petition signed by 140 local business owners is recommending the state to not support the bill. The petition is being platformed through an organization called “Equality Utah,” and defends the legacy of Milk in connection to the boulevard.
The “Petition to Preserve Harvey Milk Boulevard” states, in part, “Over the years, Harvey Milk Boulevard has also become part of our neighborhood’s identity. Businesses have built their brands, community spaces, and sense of place around this name, and changing it would disrupt both the economic vitality and character of our corridor.”
“We respectfully urge the State of Utah to uphold the principle of local control at the municipal level—just as the State itself values its independence from federal oversight. In that spirit, we ask the Utah Legislature to preserve the name of our street and allow it to stand undisturbed,” the petition concluded.
The Salt Lake Tribune further noted that Trevor Lee “said in an interview with KUTV in September that he wanted to rename the street because Milk had no connection to Utah and the street was named after him based on a group of activists pushing an agenda.”
