MADISON — A man carrying a long gun and wearing a shirt that said “Feminism is Cancer” voluntarily left the state Capitol grounds on Friday during a ceremony raising a Pride Flag above the building, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration said.
“The person was not threatening, and the presence of the gun alone did not violate any laws. State Capitol Police and City of Madison Police contacted the person, and he voluntarily left the area without incident,” DOA spokeswoman Tatyana Warrick said in an email.
A Wisconsin State Journal reporter first reported the man’s presence on the social media platform X.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Tony Evers referred questions to DOA.
People who are legally permitted to own firerarms are generally allowed to carry them openly in most public spaces in Wisconsin. Open carry is not allowed inside the Capitol building. The policy on concealed carry varies within the building.
Friday’s flag-raising marked the continuation of a tradition started by Evers’ administration. It’s the sixth year the Pride Flag has flown above the state Capitol.
Evers first ordered the rainbow Pride Flag to fly over the East Wing of the building in 2019. At the time he said flying the pride flag “sends a clear and unequivocal message that Wisconsin is a welcoming and inclusive place where everyone can live without fear of persecution, judgment or discrimination.”
“As much as today and this month is a celebration of the LGBTQ community, it is also the time to acknowledge the work we have before us,” Evers said during Friday’s ceremony, referencing bills introduced by Republican lawmakers that LGBTQ advocates have described as harmful.
In December and April, Evers vetoed bills that would have banned gender-affirming medical care for those under 18 and banned transgender and gender nonconforming youth from participating on school athletic teams that align with their gender identity.
“You’re damn right I vetoed every one of those bills, just as I always will,” Evers said.
Republicans have criticized the tradition in past years. Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, GOP gubernatorial candidate and former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch called rainbow flags “political props” when flown over the Capitol, and her primary opponent Kevin Nicholson said he would not fly one if elected.
LGBTQ Pride Month is celebrated each June in Wisconsin and throughout the United States to recognize the struggles of queer individuals and to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising seen as a critical event in the gay rights movement. Wisconsin in 1982 became the first state to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Evers started flying the Progress Pride Flag in place of the Rainbow one in 2022. In addition to the traditional six-stripe rainbow design, the Progress flag adds a chevron variant featuring black, brown, light blue, pink and white stripes in reference to the trans community, communities of color and individuals in the community living with or lost to the HIV/AIDS crisis.
The flag will be flown above the East Wing of the Capitol for the entirety of June, alongside the U.S. flag and Wisconsin state flag. The POW-MIA flag will continue flying above the North Wing flagpole.
Other state buildings can fly the Progress Pride Flag in June.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at [email protected]
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