Lexington Sued Over Confederate Flag Ban
By Jason Johnson | Friday, January 13th, 2012 | History, Policy, ShenandoahHow appropriate as we observe the sesquicentennial of the Civil War: the Virginia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is suing the City of Lexington for its ban on the display on non-official flags from the city’s lampposts.
Lexington is a quaint college town in the lower Shenandoah Valley, less than an hour north of Roanoke. Due to its association with both Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Less (both men lived in Lexington, one before and the other after the war), it has become a mecca for both Civil War enthusiasts and history buffs alike.
In response to complaints received after the SCV hung Confederate battle flags on the city’s lampposts last year on Lee-Jackson Day, the Lexington City Council voted to ban the display of all flags except those of the United States, Commonwealth of Virginia and City of Lexington. Among the other flags that will also be banned from public lampposts are those of Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute, both of which are located in Lexington.
At issue is whether the city ordinance violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and also whether it violates a 1993 federal court order forbidding the city to prevent SCV members from displaying the Confederate flag in public parades. SCV members contend that political correctness is also afoot in the city council’s actions:
Walter “Doc” Wilmore, wearing a necktie featuring the Confederate battle flag, said he is a member of Camp 1296. He traveled from Lexington on Thursday to attend the news conference and protest the ordinance, which he said is clearly unconstitutional and meant to appease a few at the expense of many.
“This political correctness just drives me nuts,” Wilmore said.
There is no denying that, whether pride or bigotry, the Confederate flag is a flashpoint for controversy as it evokes strong emotions for a number of Virginians. Yet, the Constitution also serves to protect controversial speech, so does Lexington’s ordinance violate the SCV’s member’s rights? The city attorney doesn’t think so:
“The key is that the city did not target Confederate flags, although clearly eliminating those was the driving force in its decision. Instead, it abolished all flags from city-owned poles beyond the official flags of specific government entities.”
In the meantime, we should reconsider a modest proposal Bearing Drift put forth two years ago, and that we recently proposed once again as a way to acknowledge the rich history of our Commonwealth and to remember the sacrifices made by all Virginians during our nation’s darkest hour.
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A lifelong political junkie, Jason caught the political bug as a fifth grader after meeting George Allen in 1993. Since then he has studied political science at both the undergraduate and graduate level. When not perusing the blogs or volunteering for conservative Republicans, Jason enjoys cheering on his beloved Virginia Tech Hokies and spending time at his Bedford County home.
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9 Responses to "Lexington Sued Over Confederate Flag Ban"
The city abolished all flags from city-owned poles beyond the official flags of specific government entities.
That’s the way it should be. Bottom line, the flag is offensive to lots of people who pay taxes. Making the argument that it’s part of our heritage and so should be honored as such, is like saying Whites Only signs are part of our heritage and should be allowed to be posted next to the MEN signs on public restrooms. If Confederate sons want to fly the flag publicly to declare their…whatever, fine. They’ve got the right, nobody is stopping them.
I think BD is right-on with its proposal regarding Virginia Heritage Day. Good idea.
More politically correct nonsense. Virginia Heritage Day… pshhh… And comparing the flag to “whites only” signs… give me a break! The flag is Virginia’s heritage, regardless of what historical revisionists and carpetbaggers want to say. Do we ban the Virginia flag because it might offend neo-loyalists? Do we ban the American flag because it offends radical Muslims?
Believe it or not, not all of us who flag do so because we’re motivated by racism or bigotry. And we’re not all neo-confederates either.
I don’t see any chance at success for the SCV. Lexington was smart and banned everything. They are free to fly the flag, just not attached to city owned property.
Just one more frivolous lawsuit… Those confederate boys should be thrown out of the party for using the liberal approach to resolving an issue! More like crying because they didn’t get their way…
There’s no First Amendment issue.
The neo-confederates can fly the treason flag on their own flagpoles on their own property.
The First Amendment does not require anyone else to finance a platform for your free speech.
I agree with the ban. These are government owned light poles. My question is why do these groups always fly the battle flag? Why don’t they fly the actual flag of the CSA? Or do they do this just to piss people off?
Maybe I should have prefaced this post with some background on my family: my great-great grandfather fought under that flag…until he was captured at Gettysburg and became a Republican. Nonetheless, like many Virginians I have no love for that flag and agree 100 percent with Steve and Sara: this is a non-issue and Lexington’s taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay to display a flag that many Virginians find offensive. Display the flag on private property? Sure. Display it on public property? No.
I have lived with this argument my whole life (so far) and being a senior I can actually remember when the controversy started. Most people assume that the former Confederate states flew the Confederate Battle Flag over their capitols or incorporated the design into their state flags during or just after Reconstruction. And most people are wrong. Displaying the Confederate flag and incorporating it in state flag designs largely began in the late 1950′s and mid 1960′s, following public school desegregation ordered by the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision in 1954 and the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was a display of resistance to what many Southerners saw as over-reaching Federal government interference in the internal business of the states; it also coincided with the emergence of the “states’ rights” movement. Somehow, Confederate veterans and their progeny managed to get along for almost 100 years without needing the Confederate flag to celebrate their heritage. The Confederate flag has nothing to do with Southern heritage and is simply a symbol of bigotry and hatred. Good for the Lexington City Council for taking a principled stand against this nonsense.
You people are nuts. The SCV is wrong to sue and waste’s too much time focusing on petty fights like this. As an SCV member, I would much rather they spend their time and resources marking soldier’s graves, preserving battlefield acres, and sponsoring true educational efforts. That said, you who recklessly throw around names like “bigot” and “racist” while attacking family members of confederate veterans are no more intelligent than the retards who run around in white sheets. Read some books, both extreme sides. The answer to this is found in the post-war words of R.E. Lee, not N.B. Forrest.
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