A bill headed for the Anne Arundel County Council would ban the flying of all flags, except those of the United States, the state of Maryland and Anne Arundel County, from county flagpoles or in county buildings. The bill’s sponsor, council member Nathan Volke, a Pasadena Republican, said the goal is to avoid sending conflicting messages to county residents.
While Volke aimed to create a simple bill that both Democrats and Republicans could support, the proposal has instead stirred controversy and opposition from groups ranging from veterans to LGBTQ+ rights activists.
The inspiration for his bill came from a Supreme Court case that originated in Boston, where a group wanted to fly a Christian flag on a city flagpole. Boston leaders decided doing so would violate the separation of church and state provision in the Constitution, leading the group to sue. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court, which unanimously sided with the group in May.
Upon reviewing the case, justices came to the conclusion that Boston had violated the group’s free speech rights under the First Amendment.
“I read about it, and I thought this is an interesting issue that could come up at some point in time,” Volke said of his bill, which will be heard at the Sept. 6 council meeting.
He said he wanted to create an “easy set of rules” in case a similar question came up in Anne Arundel County.
If enacted, the law would govern flag displays for buildings such as the Arundel Center, and county police buildings, fire stations and libraries.
Currently, county property management falls under the jurisdiction of the agency using the space, said Christine Anderson, Anne Arundel County central services officer. The police department controls the flags at its locations while the fire department controls its flags. County employees raise and lower the flags on those properties, she said.
Anderson said that as far as she knows, no one has complained about a flag on county property. She said she’s heard complaints only about flags not being flown at half-staff when they should be.
While Anne Arundel County Public Library CEO Skip Auld said he only recalls state, county and federal flags being flown on the libraries’ flagpoles, the institution does display other flags inside. For example, there are currently Pride flags in the teen room at the Odenton Library, he said.
County schools manage their own properties and are considered a separate legal entity from the county, Anderson said.
Opponents of the legislation say limiting which flags can be displayed could send a bad signal to some communities.
Mary Moore, a clinical social worker who sees LGBTQ+ children and adults, said the bill’s practical effect could affect the self-worth of children starting to accept their gender identity or sexuality. Seeing a Pride flag publicly displayed gives members of the LGBTQ+ community a feeling of acceptance, she said.
“For young people, children and adolescents, especially when they are grappling with a sexual orientation or a gender identity that is out of the mainstream, it’s very important for them to feel accepted by society,” Moore said.
LGBTQ+ children are aware of how controversial their flag can be, said Moore, who is also a founder of PFLAG Annapolis/Anne Arundel County, a nonprofit designed to provide support for LGBTQ+ people and their families and friends. She said she’s seen kids marching in parades with the Pride flag wrapped around them or wearing it like a cape. It can be a very meaningful symbol for them, she said.
PFLAG hosts support groups to help families and friends of LGBTQ+ people get together and understand they are not alone in their journey, Moore said. Restricting where the flag can be flown could send the message that the county doesn’t support them.
The banning of the flag also could affect children and teens who may not have been exposed to many LGBTQ+ people and are starting to form their own opinions on the topic, she said.
“For those kids it tells them it’s OK to put people down. It’s OK to bully them. It’s OK to say they don’t matter,” Moore said. “I don’t think that’s a good message to tell our kids.”
Volke said he knew his proposal might have critics on the left and the right. Earlier this summer a similar rule was passed by the Carroll County Board of Education, outlining which flags are permitted to be displayed on school properties. That guidance did not include the rainbow LGBTQ+ Pride flag. The new policy prompted protests and heated testimony at the board’s meetings.
“There are people sending emails about, ‘This is going to shut down having the Pride flag flown. This is going to shut down, on the other side of the aisle, having POW/MIA flags flown.’ There are other people who are saying, ‘You won’t be able to fly the Baltimore Ravens flag if they win the Super Bowl.’ Somebody else says, ‘You can’t fly the Ukrainianflag,'” Volke said. “Guess what. Every single one of you is right and that is why it’s good. It cuts across everybody.”
Another person who takes issue with the bill is Dan Tootle of Severna Park, a retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander, and former member of the county’s Veterans Affairs Commission.
For Tootle, the POW/MIA flag is incredibly meaningful. The flag symbolizes the ongoing search for American service members still missing in Vietnam. Tootle, a former pilot who flew from an aircraft carrier during the war, said he considers those lost service members his brothers and sisters.
“The premise is that the flag would remain flying until all the POWs and MIAs were, in fact, accounted for. That still hasn’t happened to date,” Tootle said. “It’s a shame that we would not allow something like the POW/MIA flag to fly. It’s being flown for a purpose.”
The bill seems unlikely to pass due to the Democratic majority on the council, said council member Sarah Lacey, a Jessup Democrat. She will vote against it and imagines her Democrat colleagues will as well.
“I’ve seen plenty of hateful flags flying in Pasadena and in District 3. There are hateful flags flying across the county,” Lacey said. “I don’t think you need to limit the flags that could be flown on government property to those three flags to prohibit hate speech.”
Volke’s bill paints all flags with the same brush, Lacey said, when hateful flags and inclusive flags should be treated differently. It’s also not necessary to implement a law based on a case from another state, she said, adding that even if it was necessary, it’s not good policy because the issue is more nuanced than the bill makes it out to be.
Volke, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary for his council seat, recently attracted a challenger in the November general election. Democratic write-in candidate Michael Gendel filed Aug. 11 to run.
