The Nevada town of Pahrump population 33, 000, voted 3-2 on Tuesday to enact an ordinance making it illegal to fly a foreign nation's flag by itself punishable by a $50 fine and 30 hours committee service unless it is flown below an American flag.
"Old Glory is sovereign," says Paul Willis, a retired carpenter and board member. "You can't fly any other nation's flag higher than the American flag."
Lisa Rasmussen, a board member of the Nevada ACLU says that the flight restriction violates the First Amendment's guarantee to free speech. "People have a right, as much as we don't like it, to fly... any flag they wish."
The law was passed as part of a package of measures that also declared English the official language and denies benefits to illegal immigrants.
2 comments:
I'd like to know how flying a flag is considered free speech. It is a form of expression, however it is being used in a disrespectufl manner. I agree that we should be free to express ourselves but a flag for your favorite sports team on your front porch is different than a hugd flag of another country on a pole. About time someone said something.
It's funny how any act that is accomplished through self-expression is somehow "free speech" these days.... Maybe the country should incorporate and begin suing for libel and slander. With enough settlements we could probably lose the income tax and still come out ahead.
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