A veterans association in New York had to take down a Gadsden flag last Wednesday because the city council felt the flag had “right-wing connotations.”
The New Rochelle city council forced the United Veterans Memorial & Patriotic Association to take down the “Don’t Tread On Me” Gadsden flag that the Navy and Marine Corps have used since 1775.
The council overruled the city manager by a 5-to-2 vote on Wednesday. The city manager had decided to let the flag fly despite complaints from some council members, by a 5-to-2 vote.
According to reports, council members, without evidence, alleged a member of the association was involved with the Tea Party and compared the flag to the rainbow gay pride flag, the Nazi flag, a Mickey Mouse flag, and graffiti.
Richard Thompson, the president of the Thomas More Law Center, which the veterans group has retained to represent the group in case it files suit, said, by the council’s reasoning, “they would remove the Stars and Stripes from flagpoles because both Democrat and Republican Parties, as well as most political candidates, use the Stars and Stripes in their campaign messaging.”
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