Mayoral veto blocks council from banning flags and symbols on city property

Montgomery's mayor has vetoed a city council ban on non-government flags and other "symbols relating to various issues and causes" on city property − one that also appeared to ban Christmas decorations, among other things.

This month, the city lit up pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month. In June, it flew Pride flags on city light poles. These types of displays would not have been allowed under the new "neutrality" resolution passed Oct. 10 by the Montgomery City Council, unless the council votes for a special exclusion. Mayor Steven Reed decided this week to veto the "neutrality" resolution, said a spokesman for Reed's office.

It would take a simple majority from the council to overturn his veto, City Clerk Brenda Blalock said in an email.

The resolution would allow federal, state, county or city flags while blocking "displays of any kind depicting any cause or ideology" from being placed on public property. The resolution was crafted to override any executive order and can only be amended by a majority vote of the council.

"While there may be causes and symbols worthy of display, the City of Montgomery does not desire to enmesh itself in such requests to erect, maintain or sponsor any such displays to be placed or flown on city property," the resolution states in part.

The council decided to work on the initiative after Councilman Brantley Lyons put forward a resolution that would designate a month to be Christian Heritage Month and would require the city to fly flags associated with the month. Four people, including two ministers and a rabbi, spoke against that initial proposal at the Sept. 19 city council meeting.

Rev. Shane Isner with First Christian Church said he wants everyone to feel welcome in his city. Displaying a Christian Heritage Month flag would not achieve that goal, he said.

"As such the Christian flag is not a symbol of welcome for people who have been pushed aside. For many it is a symbol of who is in charge, whose voice matters most, and that's not what I want for my city," Isner said.

Lyons declined to comment on the proposal and said he does not talk to the media.

Lyons withdrew the Christian Heritage Month proposal at the Oct. 10 meeting.

Lyons said the neutrality proposal is an attempt to keep the city from being sued.

Reed said earlier this month that he didn't approve of the measure and didn't think the resolution would prevent the city from being sued.

"We get sued quite often," Reed said. "Whether it's somebody hitting a pothole, or whether it's somebody that didn't like the tree that fell down in their street ... (or) they believe they had an accident because of the way we designed the street. So there's no resolution you can draw up that's going to prevent any lawsuit from anyone who's going to file one."

Reed also said the resolution is unnecessary and "outside the purview of the council."

"The city has a right to speak in support of any issue... whether those are threats to synagogues or other houses of worship, or whether those are threats to any particular group, or whether it's in support of any charitable cause or anything that's going on," Reed said.

The mayor also pointed out what he called the hypocrisy of proclaiming neutrality when the city has the birthplace of the Confederacy on its city seal.

During the Sept. 19 meeting, the council passed a resolution banning the city from flying flags — except for federal, state, city and county flags — on city flag poles. But Council President Charles Jinright said he did not vote for it because it was not extensive enough. It did not include all property or even telephone poles.

He said he thinks the new resolution that Lyons drafted is better suited to the city's needs.

“We’re trying to be fair for all concerned, and if you try to fly a flag for every person who came to you, you’d have a 100 flags a year you’d have to fly, so we just need to get out of the flag-flying business," Jinright said.

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Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Veto blocks council from banning flags and symbols on city property