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Judge: City is allowed to ban pride flags on government poles
More drama in the city of Hamtramck but this time it does not involve the City Council. It involves a pride flag.
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (FOX 2) - Drama in the city of Hamtramck, this time not involving the City Council, instead surrounding a pride flag.
Big picture view:
A large pride flag hangs above a bar and concert venue called Sanctuary. However, in June 2023, the city council decided that pride flags could not be flown on government buildings or flagpoles.
The decision caused quite an uproar in the community.
A lawsuit was filed, and a judge ruled that the city council was right; pride flags cannot be flown on government buildings. Some of the people we spoke to today weren't happy about that decision.
"It’s BS to say that you can’t fly a certain flag. But I guess it’s only on government buildings, so it guess that kinda makes sense," said Sanctuary Owner Scott Curnow.
What they're saying:
The flag was put up on a government flag pole and within a month, the City Council passed an ordinance to ban all flags, religious, ethnic, and otherwise, on government buildings.
Mike Petrack is head of the Hamtramck Citizens Union — a watchdog group for good government in Hamtramck.
"I don’t like the way they did it was correct," he said.
The judge's ruling addresses a free speech issue, explaining that there are limitations on free speech. Essentially, the judge stated that while you can fly the pride flag on your own property, government property is not a free speech zone or public forum, and there are restrictions.
Dig deeper:
These restrictions must be neutral. In this case, the Hamtramck City Council banned not only pride flags but also any type of religious, ethnic, racial, political, or related flags. So, it's not just pride flags; it's any flag on government flagpoles and buildings, except for the American flag, state flag, city flag, and the POW flag.
Additionally, there has been a rash of thefts and destruction of pride flags in Hamtramck.
If you rip those flags down, it's considered a crime, and the Hamtramck police are actively looking for those responsible.