A Blast inspired by the past

That Sticker on Your Bench

By Shea Andersen, 3-08-06

Coffee-sippers and Downtown walkers took notice quickly: As of Monday this week, Boise had a smattering of new signage. But the new labels that have popped up around the city are a lot more pointed and politically-charged than any others.

The neatly-printed signs, in fact, look familiar to anyone with a sense of civil-rights history: in clear print on white backing, they read: "heterosexuals only," and they've been slapped onto park benches and chairs, and also, notably, in several spots in the Idaho State Capitol.

The reference is clear: the signs harken back to the days when "colored people" had their own drinking fountains and bathrooms. The new context is the recent vote by the Idaho Legislature to bring to voters a proposed constitutional amendment on gay marriage.

The Idaho Statesman caught the stickers, and ran their story on it.

You can read a longer interview with the anonymous sticker-makers at the Boise Weekly.

Last I heard, some of the stickers were getting peeled off by business owners. But don't be surprised if more crop up.

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