(Watermark photo by Ryan Williams-Jent)
The Florida Senate withdrew a bill April 7 which would ban the display of flags in government agencies, public schools, colleges and universities.
After the bill was passed in the Florida House of Representatives, State Bill 100 was introduced to the Florida Senate by Sen. Randy Fine and sponsored by Sen. Johnathan Martin, stating that the government must “remain neutral” when displaying a flag in a government building. The bill has been withdrawn from further consideration.
“A government entity may not erect or display a flag that represents a political viewpoint, including, but not limited to, a politically partisan, racial, sexual orientation, and gender or political ideology viewpoint,” according to SB 100.
Written by Fine, who recently won a special election to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, SB 100 mentions the importance of flag prominence when regarding the American flag. The flag must be given a position of honor, hanging above other flags and if this were not to be the case, the bill also states that any current or retired member of the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard “to use reasonable force to prevent the destruction or removal of the Unites States flag or to replace such flag to a position of prominence.”
In the document, “Bill Analysis and Fiscal Impact Statement” by The Professional Staff of the Committee on Community Affairs, there are many concerns about this bill including the lack of specification.
“While the bill clearly regulates governmental speech, which is not limited by First Amendment regulations, it is unclear where government speech (or that undertaken by a “governmental entity”) ends and private speech begins for purposes of this regulation,” the document states. “For example, it is unclear whether a city commissioner who displays an Israeli flag in his personal office at City Hall is conducting private or government speech.”
“Without any consistent training, these members may not be aware of what constitutes impermissible desecration, destruction, or removal of a U.S. flag and what actions may be protected speech under the First Amendment,” according to the Bill Analysis and Fiscal Impact Statement.
Florida Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith shared his joy in the bill being denied on Facebook stating, “Randy Fine’s bill banning Pride Flags from public buildings is officially dead.”
“Public pressure works,” Guillermo Smith said. “Proudly fly your flags, Florida!”
