Citing the First Amendment, Mayor Walsh is refusing to let Hal Shurtleff, who runs a New Hampshire camp to teach kids his version of the Constitution, fly a Christian flag from one of the three flagpoles in front of City Hall, the Herald reports.
Shurtleff, whose name is familiar to devotees of the bulletin board at the West Roxbury Roche Bros., and who spent some 26 years as a New England coordinator for the John Birch Society, says this is outrageous. His Florida-based lawyers are demanding Walsh change course by Sept. 27 or suffer the consequences for not letting him fly a white flag with a red cross on a blue field in the corner and hold a ceremony on City Hall Plaza about our "Judeo-Christian moral heritage."
He might have to stand in line with the local Satanists, who periodically demand they be allowed to give a convocation at the start of a City Council meeting.
Shurtleff was a New England coordinator for the John Birch Society until 2016. He claims he was forced out when the society, which believed Eisenhower was a Communist infiltrator and which believes the UN wants to take over local government in the US, gave him a choice between continuing his work with them or with his Camp Constitution.
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
"Christian issues within this city"
By lbb
Mon, 09/18/2017 - 11:01am
They still do, within their purview, which is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is their own clubhouse, and they can run it as they please, and fight amongst themselves about the whys and wherefores of all that. Neither they nor any other religious institution has any standing outside their own little club, and when they attempt to assert such standing, they should be invited by every respectable citizen to go pound sand.
What if?
By Carmella
Sun, 09/17/2017 - 2:11pm
I understand this guy is probably trying to prove a point regarding his aversion to political correctness. I think the city is right in denying him this flag raising based on the church and state criteria, provided no other religious group gets to fly their flag. I don't know if any others ever have done it or even asked. I know the city flies all sorts of flags celebrating all sorts of different events, countries, lifestyles, etc. This brings to mind a scenario: The city, on many occasions, has celebrated LGBT with various flags on city hall. If a group were to come forward asking that the city fly the flag representing the straight or heterosexual lifestyle, would they do it, and if not, would this expose the city to legal ramifications based on equal treatment type criteria? I'm wondering if, in order to avoid these lawsuits, it might be wise to just fly the city, state, and American flags on the plaza. Please share your thoughts.
Heterosexual lifestyle doesn't exist
By SwirlyGrrl
Sun, 09/17/2017 - 2:21pm
Neither does the homosexual lifestyle.
They aren't lifestyles. Being gay or straight or bi is just what you are. You don't pick that.
If they were, then stereotype declares that I and my husband of nearly 30 years are absolutely lesbians, given our penchant for driving our Subaru with kayaks on the roof while blasting kd lang.
Ok
By Carmella
Sun, 09/17/2017 - 4:08pm
Ok, I'll agree it's not a lifestyle, it's just who one is. I'm just asking if anyone thinks the man would have legal standing under some kind of equal treatment criteria if Instead of asking to fly a religious flag and being denied, if he were to ask the city to fly the straight/heterosexual flag and was denied.
Straight/heterosexual flag?
By adamg
Mon, 09/18/2017 - 12:18am
If so, could you post a photo of it? I'd be most curious to see what it looks like.
Again, as I mentioned earlier, read the First Amendment. It's exactly one sentence long and it's pretty straightforward, and it specifically refers to religion, not sexual preferences, hair color, etc.
So if we're going to raise First Amendment issues, the guy would have a case if, say, the city let a local temple or mosque fly flags with their respective religion's symbols on them and then refused to let him fly a flag with a cross on it.
Yes, the city could let the guy fly his flag - but only if they let every other religious group fly theirs as well; the courts have a binary, all or nothing approach to the Establishment Clause.
Christians who demand to use public property to advertise their beliefs often don't think it through - ask the Florida legislature, which wanted a creche in the State House but wound up with a creche and a Festivus pole.
Here it is
By Carmella
Mon, 09/18/2017 - 6:45pm
https://www.google.com/search?q=straight+heterosex...
All you ever wanted to know about pride flags but we're afraid to ask.
Brilliant!
By Daniel
Mon, 09/18/2017 - 3:12pm
The best U-Hub response ever! Thank you, Swirly.
"Almost Cut My Hair"
By anon
Sun, 09/17/2017 - 4:51pm
"I feel like letting my freak flag fly."
-David Crosby
1970
I work in West Roxbury, and
By cscott
Mon, 09/18/2017 - 1:11am
I work in West Roxbury, and one morning I noticed fresh graffiti on a bridge, it read "Stop the Zionist UN!" or something along those lines. I kinda shrugged and thought how bizarre it was that somebody in 2017 thought West Roxbury needed to hear that fringe message. After reading this I think I have a suspect...
how weird our politics are
By anon
Mon, 09/18/2017 - 3:24am
This is how weird our politics are.
Far-right Birchers are anti-Zionist (opposed to Israeli nation) and anti-Semitic because Jews, they believe, control to much power and wealth.
Millennials and others are anti- Israeli occupation and anti-apartheid in occupied West Bank and pro-BDS and not because they're anti-Semitic but because they believe in equal protection under law and they oppose colonialism.
In a testament to the power of recognizing intersectionality, Black Lives Matter at Furgeson announced their support for Palestianian liberty.
Pages
Add comment