On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Calls on Maryland Legislators to Simplify American Flag Permit Process, Respect Right of Residents to Fly Flag in Traffic Circles
BALTIMORE, Md. — John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, has provided testimony to the Maryland House of Delegates’ Environmental Matters Committee regarding the need for legislation that would establish a simplified permit process to enable residents to fly American flags in traffic circles. House Bill 132 (HB 132) was introduced by Delegates Warren Miller and Gail Bates as a means of resolving a conflict that arose after officials with the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) removed from the grassy median of a traffic circle an American flag intended to honor members of the military. The flag was placed there three years ago by a Maryland family, the Winklers, as a way of paying tribute to members of the Woodbine community serving in the U.S. military overseas and of welcoming home returning service people. Pointing out that the flag had not been a cause for concern, safety or otherwise, over the course of the three years it had flown in the circle, Rutherford Institute attorneys had called on the SHA to either re-install the flag or grant the Winkler family a permit to do so.
The Rutherford Institute’s testimony on HB 132 is available here.
“State Highway Administration officials have already publicly acknowledged that a statewide solution for allowing the display of flags on medians is needed and that they would welcome the opportunity to support the community’s desire to honor our troops,” said Whitehead. “As a constitutional attorney with more than 30 years of experience in First Amendment law, I can attest to the fact that flying the American flag on land that is tantamount to a small public park constitutes clearly protected expression under the First Amendment.”
The Winkler family erected the American flag in the traffic circle three years ago as a way of paying tribute to members of the Woodbine community serving in the U.S. military overseas and of welcoming home returning service people. The flag had been flown from that circle ever since, replaced periodically with a new flag provided by the American Legion Gold Star Post 191 in Mount Airy. However, in December 2011, road crews with the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) removed the flag and the flag pole. Justifying its actions, the SHA stated that the flag “posed a safety threat to motorists,” “was installed without permit” and “constituted trespassing on state property.”
Asked by the Winkler family to intervene in the matter, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute alerted the SHA to the fact that such flag displays are clearly protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Pointing out that since the flag flew undisturbed for three years without being a cause for concern, safety or otherwise, and without raising the ire of the SHA, which had to be aware of its presence, Institute attorneys dismissed the SHA’s stated reasons for removing the flag as a face-saving measure. In testifying before the Environmental Matters Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates on HB 132, Whitehead pointed out that what is needed right now is an acceptable remedy that both addresses the permit concerns of the SHA and accommodates the desire of the members of the Woodbine community to maintain a patriotic display as long as Americans are fighting overseas.
