An online petition with hundreds of signatures has called on Franklin, TN leaders to amend an ordinance limiting how many flags residents could post on their property.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — An online petition with hundreds of signatures has called on Franklin leaders to amend an ordinance limiting how many flags residents could post on their property.
A Change.org petition has called on city aldermen to roll back a three-flag-per-lot restriction. In September, News 2 was the first to introduce you to Duane Charlton, who was cited after he refused to remove several of his flags. Charlton later removed flags to avoid fines.
On Friday, News 2 spoke with another resident, Mike Sholar, who learned about Charlton’s story and wanted to take a stand.
“This is the flag. This is the United States flag,” Sholar said. “…[I thought] I’m going to buy a dozen flags from Amazon, even if it’s a flag on a stick, and just become civically disobedient to oppose the law.”
Sholar posted nine small flags along his fence post and told News 2 that he received a violation notice from the city within three days. Sholar removed his flags after he learned that he could be fined up to $50 per extra flag per day.
“If I had 16 or 18 huge flags waving in the front yard, it would probably cause traffic issues, but nine small little flags against my fence and they’re going to fine me $300 a day,” Sholar said.
Sholar is one of the Change.org petition’s supporters. The petition argues that the ordinance hampers the free expression of patriotism.
“Anyone in Franklin should be allowed to express themselves by having more than three flags,” the petition reads, in part.
Despite residents wishing to amend the ordinance, limiting a household’s number of flags is within the rights of a city government, according to the Free Speech Center at MTSU. Director Ken Paulson said city leaders can dictate the “time, place, and manner” of certain speech, so long as it doesn’t interfere with the content of the message. According to a spokesperson for the city of Franklin, ordinance 15.9 has been around since 1991.
“The city does not regulate any content of the flags. So if someone wanted to have three flags that featured content a neighbor didn’t necessarily agree with, they would be allowed, so long as the number was limited to three. This has nothing to do with the American flag.” Franklin’s chief communication officer, Milissa Reierson, told News 2 in a statement.
Sholar pointed out that the Williamson County Archives and Museum located in Franklin had more than three flags on display. Sholar added that he did not feel that enforcing ordinance 15.9 was a good use of the city’s time, resources or tax dollars.
“Everybody’s so divided,” Sholar said. “That’s just the one thing you should be able to do.”
Sholar and Charlton hope to speak with aldermen at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting on October 8.