[caption id=”attachment_79599″ align=”aligncenter” width=”512″] (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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After a rumored “flag ban” at the University of California, Irvine lit up the internet over the weekend and sparked all kinds of outrage, California lawmakers are taking strides to ensure that no state-funded school will be able to take down Old Glory.
State Sen. Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove), along with Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen and other GOP lawmakers, said in a news release that they will introduce a Senate constitutional amendment Wednesday that will prohibit state-funded colleges and universities from banning the American flag on school property.
“I came to this country as an immigrant searching for freedom and democracy and I would not be here today if it were not for the American flag,” Nguyen said in a statement.
“The veterans that are with us here today and the thousands of servicemen and women fighting throughout the world deserve for us to make every effort to ensure that the American flag is proudly displayed at public universities and colleges throughout California.”
The legislation was prompted by six members of the University of California, Irvine, student legislative council, a sub-committee of the student government, voting on Thursday to ban any national flag, including the American flag, from hanging in the student government office common area.
The Executive Cabinet of the student government vetoed this subcommittee’s actions on Saturday, according to the school’s website, calling it “misguided legislation.” No flags were ever removed or actually banned from the campus.
Despite the executive committee’s veto and the fact that no-such ban is happening, lawmakers said it would still be important to move the constitutional amendment forward.
Republican state lawmakers said it’s still important to move forward with this legislation.
“Like so many across our state and country, I was deeply troubled by the decision made to remove the American flag from the lobby of the student government offices at UC Irvine,” state Sen. Mike Morrell (R-Rancho Cucamonga) said in a news release.
“I commend the executive cabinet for vetoing this action, but last week’s series of events is still discouraging.”
