Four and a half hours before the state senate convenes to vote on the marriage equality bill that he co-sponsored, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) sat in a committee room between meetings, polishing his floor speech on behalf of the bill.
“I think we need a miracle, and I believe that miracles do happen,” said Lesniak, who pointed out that he was wearing the same American flag tie he wore to accept the Memorial de Caen award for his speech in favor of abolishing the death penalty.
Medal of Honor winner and World War II veteran Colonel Van Barfoot just wants to be able to give the American flag the respect it deserves.
His homeowners association thinks otherwise and ordered the 90-year-old Virginia man to tear down his flag pole because it is not “aesthetically appropriate,” WTVR CBS 6 in Richmond, VA, reports.
Here’s more from CBS6.com:
Barfoot lives in the Sussex Square community in western Henrico County. He moved there in July, and was ordered to remove the flagpole from his front lawn when he flew the flag on Labor Day, and again on Veterans Day.
The homeowner’s association doesn’t explicitly forbid flagpoles but they must be “aesthetically appropriate”. Short flags are allowed on porches, but Barfoot says that’s not the way he was raised to respect the flag.
“First of all, it’s not dignified, and it shows you got it in the half mast position… you can walk around here and I’ll bet you the American flag is hanging out in the rain, nobody ever checks it”, says Barfoot.
And what does the homeowners association have to say about all this?
This is not about the American flag. This is about a flagpole… We are a neighborhood of patriotic Americans, many of whom have served our country in the military as Col. Barfoot has done.
Barfoot, whose story has drawn national attention, says he will take the matter all the way to court, if he has to.
What do you think about Barfoot’s story? Do you think he should be allowed to keep his flag pole? Share your comments below.