The only flags that will fly next year at the Veteran's Memorial will be Christian ones, based on applications the city has received from about 80 King residents.
City Clerk Tammy Hatley said Monday that all but three of the residents who applied to have a flag flown for a week next year asked that a Christian flag be flown. The other three asked that no flag be flown, which according to the policy is acceptable.
Under a new city policy, enacted Dec. 6 after months of debate, the city decided to let residents apply to have religious flags flown for a week at a time at the Veteran's Memorial to honor those who served in the U.S. military.
City officials will conduct a lottery at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the American Legion Post 290 on South Main Street to select 52 requests for the flags to be flown at the memorial.
The idea behind the lottery system is to randomly pick the veterans to be honored each week. With the requests in, the only possible outcome now is for a Christian flag or no religious flag to be flown at the memorial.
The city accepted applications through Monday.
Under the policy, 41 symbols — all approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — can be flown on flags at the memorial in Central Park. The symbols represent a number of faiths, including Islam and Judaism as well as a number of Christian denominations. The policy takes effect Jan. 1, and the first flag will be flown Monday, Jan. 3. A placard also will be placed at the memorial with the veteran's name, rank and dates of services, along with other information.
The lottery is the latest development in a dispute over religious flags that began in the summer, when a veteran of the war in Afghanistan complained about a Christian flag at the memorial.
In mid-August, the council received letters from the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Both groups urged the council to remove the Christian flag, saying that flying it at the public space violated the First Amendment. As the council considered the policy, many people said they didn't want any non-Christian flags flown at the memorial.
On Oct. 23, about 5,000 people participated in a rally calling for a return of the Christian flag to the memorial. Since the council voted Sept. 15 to remove the flag, local veterans have held a vigil at the memorial. They are displaying a temporary Christian flag there.
Americans United has not decided whether it will sue the city over its new policy, and the ACLU is reviewing the policy.
Joe Infranco, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund who helped craft the policy, and City Attorney Walter Pitt have said that the policy follows legal guidelines because it allows individuals to express their religious views, which are protected by the First Amendment.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that supports public expressions of Christianity, is providing free legal help to city officials who worked on the policy.
Bobby McGee of King, a member of the American Legion post's board of directors, said his organization is allowing the city to use its building for the lottery. The building can seat about 300 people, McGee said.
jhinton@wsjournal.com
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