Flag ban gets funny

The Minnesota Legislature has been working to make it a crime to buy a non-American flag. Below is a great quote from the Wall Street Journal editorial board followed up by a response from the bill’s sponsor.

“In St. Paul this week, the legislature passed a law making it a misdemeanor to sell a non-made-in-the-USA flag anywhere in the state. “Nothing is more embarrassing to me than a plastic flag made in China,” declared Tom Rukavina, who sponsored the bill.Actually, we can think of several things more embarrassing, starting with Mr. Rukavina.

Under the Minnesota flag law, violators could be subject to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail. So under Mr. Rukavina’s patriot gaming and thanks to the Supreme Court’s 1989 decision in Texas v. Johnson, Minnesotans will be able to legally burn an American flag made in America, but could go to jail for selling one made in Shanghai. Splendid.”
Flag Banning, WSJ 7/6/07

State Representative Tom Rukavina responds:

“Let me get this straight. You think I’m an embarrassment for wanting our flags to be made in the U.S. I tell you what — you buy your flag made in Pakistan by some eight-year-old whose parents may be hiding Osama bin Laden; I’ll buy my flag made in the U.S. by a productive American worker. I know you have a job to do protecting those fat cats on Wall Street. I’ve got a job to do, too, and that is to keep fighting to maintain as many jobs in the U.S. as possible.”
Tom Rukavina
State Representative
St. Paul, Minn.
7/2007

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