An American flag with President Obama's image in place of the stars flew over a Florida county's Democrat headquarters long enough to enrage local veterans who called the altered banner "a disgrace."
Lake County Democratic Party
officials took down the flag, which flew just below a standard Old
Glory on the flagpole outside headquarters in Tavares following
complaints by local veterans. But merely taking it down wasn't enough
for several local veterans, who said they fought for the flag Betsy Ross
made famous, not one with a politician on it.
"It's absolutely disrespectful," Jim
Bradford, a 71-year-old veteran who participated in the Bay of Pigs
Invasion told FoxNews.com. "It's totally ridiculous. To put somebody's
picture there, to me, it's a disgrace to do that."
Bradford, an organizer with the Veterans
Memorial at Fountain Park in Leesburg, Fla., snapped photos of the flag
and distributed them to fellow veterans
and friends. By late afternoon, he and several other veterans delivered
a copy of the federal flag code to Nancy Hurlbert, chairwoman of the
Lake County Democratic Party.
"We read that to her, but she would not accept that," Bradford said. "The discussion finally got a little bit heated."
The flag, which had been flying for several
months without complaint and is available online for $12.95, was later
removed by Hurlbert.
Bradford said Hurlbert apologized for the incident, but did not offer any promises that it wouldn't fly again.
"What really upsets me is that the flag had
apparently been flying for months and no one had done anything about
it," Bradford said. "I've got no hard feelings toward [Hurlbert], but
people will be driving by there to make sure it doesn't go up again."
Hurlbert said Tuesday's incident was the
first time anyone had complained about the flag, which she received as a
gift two months ago.
"It leads me to believe that it's not about
the flag," she told FoxNews.com. "Certain elements cannot accept Barack
Obama as president."
Hurlbert said she intends to contact an
attorney regarding the matter and remained non-committal as to whether
she'll fly the flag again.
"I won't say no and I won't say yes," she said. "We want to find out what our legal rights are."
Jenn Meale, communications director for
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, referred FoxNews.com to state laws
that pertain to the use of flags on public lands and property when asked
for clarification as to whether Hurlbert could face any penalties.
Statute 256.05, which covers improper use of
state or United States flag, or other symbol of authority, reads: "No
person shall, in any manner, for exhibition or display:
"(1) Place or cause to be placed any word,
figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement of any nature
upon any flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of the United States or
of this state, or authorized by any law of the United States or this
state; or
"(2) Expose to public view any such flag,
standard, color, ensign or shield upon which shall have been printed,
painted or otherwise produced, or to which shall have been attached,
appended, affixed or annexed any such word, figure, mark, picture,
design, drawing or advertisement."
Meanwhile, Jay Agg, communications director for AMVETS, told FoxNews.com that the American flag should never be altered.
"While we are pleased the flag in question
has since been removed from public display, the reported fact that it
had flown for months without protest is a clear indication that we have
much work to do in educating the public of the importance of protecting
our flag," Agg wrote in an email. "This issue is especially important to
AMVETS' members, the men and women who have proudly worn our nation's
uniform and served under her flag."
The final insult to veterans? The flag is made in China.
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