06/04/2026
Why does Utah always seem determined to stand up and chime in at exactly the wrong moment?
I’ve spent the last decade producing and performing The Viva La DIVA Show, right here in Utah.
In that time, I’ve entertained thousands of people from every walk of life—Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, straight, gay, religious, non-religious, locals, and visitors from around the world.
What I’ve learned is that most people get along a lot better than our politicians do.
My show has always had one simple rule:
Everyone is welcome.
Everyone is safe.
Everyone is respected.
The only thing we ask in return is that you show that same respect to others.
Which is why I find it so disappointing that every June, some elected leaders seem more focused on finding creative ways not to acknowledge Pride Month than addressing the issues that affect every Utahn.
Renaming something doesn’t lower housing costs.
It doesn’t improve education.
It doesn’t strengthen our economy.
It doesn’t help working families.
It doesn’t solve a single real problem.
What it does do is send a message.
And the message many LGBTQ+ Utahns hear is that their contributions somehow count less than everyone else’s.
The truth is we’ve always been part of Utah’s story.
We own businesses here.
We work here.
We volunteer here.
We raise families here.
We create jobs here.
We entertain here.
For ten years I’ve built a career, a business, and a show in this state because I believe Utah is better than its politics on its worst days.
I still believe that.
And regardless of what any politician chooses to call June, the doors of the DIVA Show will remain open!
Everyone is welcome!
Everyone is safe!
Everyone is respected!
Because while politicians argue about who belongs, we’ll keep proving that everyone does!
Happy and Safe Pride Month to EVERYONE!
Jason CoZmo, The Viva La DIVA Show
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
It takes a special kind of effort to officially rename a month, and at least five Republican governors have now put in the work - all to avoid acknowledging Pride. Arkansas and Utah went with "Fidelity Month." Tennessee, Indiana, and Alabama chose the family angle. Oklahoma went with "Life Month."
Tennessee started it, defining the "nuclear family" in the actual resolution as "one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children."
Indiana's Mike Braun then borrowed that language almost word for word. Alabama's Kay Ivey went a step further, making sure her "Strong Families Month" proclamation spelled out that strong families are led by "a father and a mother" - just in case anyone wondered who was being left off the guest list.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders rolled hers out through the Daily Wire, which announced the state was "kicking Pride Month to the curb." Utah's Spencer Cox added that the Constitution was "made only for moral and religious people," which is a bold thing to say about a document that never mentions God.
The detail that lingers: the federal government has recognized June as Pride Month, in one form or another, since 1999. It took these governors twenty-six years and a lot of paperwork to come up with five different ways to not say the word.
