Old Glory Gets A Victory

From One News Now and Alliance Defense Fund:

Old Glory gets a thumb's up


Bill Bumpas - OneNewsNow - 11/15/2010 7:50:00 AM

A 13-year-old California boy who was told by school officials to remove a U.S. flag from his bike will once again be able to fly the Stars and Stripes as he rides on campus.











Just before Veterans Day, officials at Denair Middle School told Cody Alicea to remove the American flag over concerns of his safety. The school cited complaints from other students. But on Friday, Superintendent Edward Parraz backtracked on that decision -- apparently in response to public outcry.



The superintendent told a TV station that in its initial decision, the school was trying to avoid racial tensions stemming from an issue that arose when Hispanic students brought Mexican flags to school earlier this year (May 5) during an observance of "Cinco de Mayo." Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver calls the school's reasoning "absurd."



"This is the United States of America -- and this young boy has a right to be able to put a flag on the back of his bicycle," says Stave. "He wants to honor veterans, including his grandfather, who served in our country's military -- [and] he ought to be able to do that. The mere fear that someone might bring some kind of other flag as a hypothetical possibility is not a basis to censor, of all things, the United States Flag."



Staver did send a letter to Superintendent Parraz, but tells OneNewsNow that it appears there is no need for further action.



"Because it looks like now the school is going to be back-peddling a little bit," he explains. "We're just going to make sure that the school continues back-peddling and [that] this never happens again.



"It shouldn't have ever happened to Cody in the first place -- and it shouldn't happen to anybody in the future."