WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court justices seemed to have little doubt Tuesday that Boston was wrong to refuse to fly a banner described as a Christian flag outside City Hall.
Arguments at the high court appeared to unite justices on the left and right in favor of Harold Shurtleff, a conservative activist. Shurtleff wanted to fly a white banner with a red cross on a blue background in the upper left corner, called the Christian flag.
There are three flagpoles outside City Hall that fly the U.S., Massachusetts and Boston flags. Occasionally, the city takes down its own pennant and temporarily hoists another flag.
Although Boston had approved 284 straight applications — most involving the flags of other nations — a city official turned away Shurtleff and his Camp Constitution because he said he wanted to fly the Christian flag.
Justice Samuel Alito noted that Chinese and Cuban flags had flown outside City Hall. Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, representing Boston, said those were part of a policy that recognizes the heritage of Boston residents, not an endorsement of those regimes.
Justice Elena Kagan was among several justices who suggested the decision to refuse Shurtleff’s request was a simple mistake. “Why is it that people have not been able to correct this mistake?” Kagan asked.
The case hinges on whether the flag-flying is an act of the government, in which case Boston can do whatever it wants, or private parties like Shurtleff.
If the flagpole is more like a designated free speech or protest area of the kind outside City Hall in Boston and other government buildings around the country, Hallward-Driemeier conceded that turning away some points of view and allowing others amounts to discrimination.
The Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union are among a wide array of parties on Shurtleff’s side.
Boston has indicated it would change its policy if it loses the case to take more control of what flags can fly.
A decision in Shurtleff v. Boston, 20-1800, is expected by late spring.
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The Court pulls through again. Evidently, Conservatives get every other decision.
However: “Boston has indicated it would change its policy if it loses the case to take more control of what flags can fly.”
IF IT was a “Simple mistake”, WHY THEN DOES IT keep bloody happen?~
Let me guess. Boston wants to fly the yellow hammer and sickle on a red backround.
Boston wanted to Show Just how ” Tolerant Boston really was by not Allowing The Christain Flag to be Displayed .
Let those secular socialist Boston midgets who seek a leg lifting Boston PEE Party on our Christian flag just go fly a kite while we fly our flag. Most of the flags they fly are only good for covering the faces of their ugly women who think they are men while their men use these face covered women for the practicing of the same kind of screwing of Conservative Christians full faced that they do to their own face covered women, where now covid masks more conveniently replace the former use of those flags. The masks of the ugly women also benefit them, because now it is easier to get a blind date, which when the masks finally come off, could also be one reason the murder rate is rising in democrat run cities.
Those who hate christianity will surely come to regret that choice but it will be too late.
I wonder, have they greenlit flying a satanic flag, o the MUSLIM one?
Why would anyone expect anything different from the Boston politicians?
Sad to see the city that was at the heart of this great Republic’s founding turn it’s back on those principles that were at the center of this Nation’s beginnings. One of the main principles is freedom of religion. Evidently the politicians in Boston today are more in the vein of Lenin than Sam and John Adams.
Boston wanted to show how ” Tolerant Boston really was by not Allowing The Flying of the Christian Flag when the city Fathers had no problem with other Countries Flags to be displayed. Note, A Correction of my previous Comments .
So even though Boston knows it isn’t a violation, of the Constitution, to fly a Christian flag their going to refuse to do so by changing their policy. Make no mistake this is pure unabashed Christian bigotry and hatred.
You can bet, had they denied a MUSLIM flag to fly, they’d have already been FIRED, for ‘islamophobia..