The Sanford City Council on Tuesday discussed a request from a City Councilor for the yellow Gadsden Flag to be flown in front of Sanford City Hall on the Fourth of July, but ultimately did not move forward with a vote on the request.
The Gadsden Flag is one of the most popular symbols of the American Revolution, featuring a coiled rattlesnake with the words “Don’t Tread on Me.”
The flag, which in recent decades has become a popular political symbol among libertarians, is named after Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress who designed the flag in 1775 during the American Revolutionary War.
The Sanford City Council adopted a policy regarding the display of flags on city property on July 5, 2022, in consultation with legal council.
Per that resolution, a the City Council may vote to approve a request made by a City Councilor to display a flag other than the U.S., State of Maine, or POW flag, for a period of up to 30 days as “an expression of the City Council’s official government speech.”
The policy requires that display of the flag accords with the U.S. Constitution and is non-discriminatory, in that the flag cannot promote a particular religion, political party or affiliation.
The Sanford City Council previously voted during their May 21 meeting 6-1 to fly a rainbow flag at City Hall in recognition of Pride Month for the entire month of June.
Councilor Jonathan Martell was the single vote in opposition to the city flying the Pride Flag, stating that the flag is personally offensive to him and that he would not vote for it.
Councilor Martell was also the one to request that the Gadsden Flag be flown at Sanford City Hall for the Fourth of July.
During discussion regarding the request, Sanford Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy read an email from Zendelle Bouchard, who is the founding editor and publisher of the Sanford Springvale News.
“I used to love the Gadsden Flag, and it breaks my heart that its original meaning is being twisted by those who use it today for purely political purposes,” Bouchard wrote to the City Council.
“Those who embrace the Gadsden Flag in the 21st century would like to equate the 18th century oppression of the American colonists with the current state of affairs in this country, because they don’t everything their way. But that’s not oppression, that’s democracy,” Bouchard wrote.
While Bouchard argued the city flying the Gadsden Flag would be “hypocritical and completely inappropriate,” Bouchard defended the city flying the Pride Flag, as it is “not a political issue, it’s a moral issue.”
[RELATED: Cumberland Town Council Votes to Paint Crosswalk Rainbow for Pride Month…]
City Councilor Robert Stackpole also spoke in opposition to the city flying the Gadsden Flag, while defending their decision to fly the Pride Flag.
“My question is how does putting this [Gadsden] flag in front of City Hall for any period of time benefit the people of Sanford?” Stackpole asked.
“And you might say, well how does it benefit the — putting a rainbow flag in front of Sanford? And I’m willing to speak to that very openly, and I think it does benefit Sanford,” Stackpole said, referring to the Pride Flag.
When it came to flying the Revolutionary War-era flag on the Fourth of July, however, Stackpole said “I don’t see that this benefits the people of Sanford at all.”
[RELATED: South Portland Set to Spend Over $1,500 Painting Crosswalks Rainbow for Pride Month…]
Councilor Martell, explaining why he brought the request to fly the Gadsden Flag forward, said that it was “to bring to light the fact that you could request any flag.”
“The point of this was I don’t think any non-state, or American Flag, or the POW Flag, should be flown in front of the City Hall,” Martell said.
Martell decided not to move forward with his request for the Gadsden Flag to be flown on the Fourth, but requested that the Council review and reconsider the city’s flag policy, and potentially add a review of the policy to the agenda for a future meeting.
Full video of the discussion:
I’d say the rainbow flag is pretty darn discriminatory toward Christians, traditionalists, straight people and other religious people.
So Sanford is full of lying leftists now.
Enjoy remaining a poor, dumpy town
Here’s an Independence Day song –
https://youtu.be/uZfRaWAtBVg?si=Q_3zxvfZX_jPxzED
Beachmom, this is what out of state left leaning shitheads do best. Come here, and push their views on Mainers. Sanford also took in a bunch of “asylum seekers” which in my opinion is just a democrat term for ILLEGALS, so they already proved they aren’t to bright to begin with.
One flag is about the Tea Party, the other about tea bagging.
Sanford IS rather near Massachusetts, and it shows.
Folks of Sanford-Springvale you are lost your mills
now you are loosing your freedoms!
Sanford sucks….a crap hole!
If the councilor who promoted the pride flag were logically consistent, then he’d realize that his claim that flying the pride flag as “a moral issue” means he has crossed the line of the separation of church and state 🙄. But moonbats aren’t logical.
What a bunch of socialist cowards! People need to re-think who they put in office. This state has become a WOKE haven.
Let’s fly a flag that CELEBRATES 2 GUYS SHOVING THEIR DICKS UP EACH OTHER. THE GADSDEN FLAG is too controversial.
Sanford celebrates the 2 Irish homosexuals flag…, Michael Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzmichael.
Lets go back to when only the American Flag was flying. This flag includes everyone.
Dian
2 days ago
What a bunch of socialist cowards! People need to re-think who they put in office. This state has become a WOKE haven.
We should have done that 40 years ago. Too late now, we are screwed.
Bouchard has managed to take the usual lib stance by trashing any opposition and justifying her side as a “moral issue”. I’m a live and let live person but I object to having something shoved in my face for a month with the virtue signalers insisting that we have to obey and be happy about it.