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Florida bill would restrict public political flags
Kailey Tracy reports
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Petersburg leaders have raised the Dr. Carter G. Woodson flag outside of City Hall to mark the start of Black History Month for nearly a decade. Thursday, though, new state legislation lingered over the ceremony.
A bill filed by Republican lawmakers, Representative David Borrero, who represents Miami-Dade, and Representative Randy Fine, who represents Brevard, would restrict which flags can be flown at government buildings and public schools.
"Today, we are faced with the potential of criminalization of gatherings like this for raising a flag in honor of the father of Black history, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and Black History Month for which we will not be deterred," Terri Lipsey Scott, the executive director of the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, said at the ceremony Thursday.
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The bill states that flags can’t "represent a political viewpoint, including, but not limited to, a politically partisan, racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint."
"We are saying that everybody has a right to their beliefs and everyone has a right to express it privately, but we are not going to pick winners and losers and put flags in government buildings and on government flagpoles," State Representative Rick Roth, who represents West Palm Beach, said during a committee meeting.
The bill doesn’t specifically name flags that wouldn’t be allowed to be flown. Lawmakers, though, said it could affect LGBTQ pride flags and flags representing the Black Lives Matter movement.
"We are focused on honoring Black history," St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said at Thursday’s ceremony. "As Terri said, no matter what happens in Tallahassee, we are St. Pete. You can change how we celebrate, but you can't change our core beliefs."
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The bill wouldn’t prevent people from flying certain flags at home or in private buildings, and therefore, it doesn’t violate the First Amendment, the bill states.
"We'll watch and see what happens in Tallahassee. We'll be up there next week, and we would urge our legislators to address real problems. We've been doing this so long in the city. It's not an issue. It reflects what our city is about," Welch said.
"But I can tell you, I met with homeowners yesterday who are worried about their neighborhoods being flooded out because of sea level rise. We talked to folks who are worried about the price of housing every day. We talked to folks who can't pay their flood insurance, their house insurance. So, there's some real issues that I would hope the legislature would focus on and not trying to regulate how folks celebrate who we are," Welch said.
The bill is currently in the State Affairs Committee where it has to get approved before going to the full House. If it becomes law, it will go into effect July 1, 2024.