Last night, the City Council in Huntington Beach, California enacted a new municipal ordinance regarding the flying of flags outside of City Hall, but not until they got an earful from protesters who attended the council meeting. The new rules limit the flags that can be flown on the flagstaff outside. Going forward, only flags of the United States, California, and Huntington Beach will be allowed, plus the traditional POW/MIA flag. This proposal caught fire on social media and hysterical liberals showed up to speak at the meeting, including one cast member from The Real Housewives of Orange County. The protesters were not there to demand that all flags be allowed, however. Just one specific flag was addressed. They want the rainbow “pride flag” to be flown, particularly during Pride Month in June. A majority of the council was unmoved and the motion narrowly passed by one vote. (CBS Los Angeles)

Huntington Beach reconsidered its display of the Pride Flag with a proposed city ordinance limiting which flags would fly on the staff outside City Hall.

The Huntington Beach City Council voted to move forward with limiting flags — under the ordinance, only government flags and the POW/MIA Flag are allowed to fly outside Huntington Beach City Hall — meaning the Pride Flag won’t be flown anymore during Pride Month in June. The Tuesday night vote was 4 to 3.

Dozens of people came to the city council meeting to speak out against the new city ordinance proposed by Councilman Pat Burns, who suggested flags on city property should not be “divisive,” and should only represent the United States, the state of California, Orange County and the city of Huntington Beach, along with the POW/MIA Flag.

I swear that in just the past few years I have seen more arguments breaking out about flags than at any other time in my life. This episode is only the latest. What’s so difficult to understand about all of this outrage is the fact that the City Council isn’t demanding the display of some social or cultural flag that the protesters might object to. They’re simply talking about not flying potentially divisive symbols on government property.

If they were trying to mandate the flying of the Confederate flag, I suppose I could see some people being upset. But they will be flying government flags on public property in front of a government building. Yes, they’re making an exception for the POW/MIA flag, but that one has been with us forever and I don’t recall hearing any sane people complaining about its underlying message.

Also, what are these protesters really missing out on with this limitation? Have you walked around any city in California during the month of June in recent years? You can’t go a block without seeing a rainbow flag. People paint them on the streets and hang them in store windows. They’re more ubiquitous than Black Lives Matter banners were a couple of years ago. (Whatever happened to all of those, anyway?)

It’s also worth remembering that the “official” nature of flags has been with us for a long time and it’s never been very ambiguous. There are federal codes in place regulating the design and display of the American flag, covering almost all aspects of its handling, including how to dispose of one properly after it becomes worn out.

I can’t even imagine what comes after this. Personally, I’m increasingly leaning toward picking up a skull and crossbones on a black background given how things are going in the country these days. After all, the idea harkens back to one of my favorite writers. As H.L. Menken once wrote, “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”