Un-American American Flags Banned in Florida

It won’t be long before Florida taxpayers can rest assured flags flying on state, county or city proprieties are 100 percent American made.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the “All-American Flag Act” into law Thursday. While the law goes into effect July 1, the ban on American flags that aren’t made in the USA won’t truly take hold until Jan. 1, 2016.

The act requires any flag purchased after that date for public use to be “made in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies, all of which are grown, produced, and manufactured in the United States.”

The act received overwhelming support in both the Florida House and Senate with 110 yeas to two nays in the house and 38 yeas to one nay in the Senate, according to House records.

Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne Beach, one of only two in the House to vote against the measure said he felt it was an anti-capitalism mandate.

“The flag is not literal, it’s symbolic,” the Lakeland Ledger quoted him as saying following the House’s March vote. “Let me tell you what the flag does not stand for: anti-government, anti-competitive practices, government mandates and wasteful spending for tax dollars.”

Scott signed the new law along with 47 others on Thursday. Other laws heading for the books include a bill that makes it easier for grandparents to petition for visitation rights, one that extends the statute of limitations for reporting sexual assaults and a removal of the state’s same-sex adoption ban.

What are your thoughts on the “All-American Flag Act?” Share them by commenting below!

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