Wisconsin lawmakers debated a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit the exterior display of any flag that’s not the U.S. flag or the Wisconsin state flag, with specific exceptions, from state office buildings or facilities, local government buildings and school buildings at a public hearing Wednesday.
According to the bill’s author, Rep. Jerry O'Connor, R-Fond Du Lac, the goal behind authoring the bill is to “lower rhetoric and divisiveness,” and to remove “government authored divisions.”
O'Connor used the example of flying “pro-life,” “pro-choice,” “Make America Great Again” and “Black Lives Matter” flags at each corner of the Wisconsin Capitol, saying that this creates “unnecessary conflict” when people see the display.
“When people look at a building, it's not to figure out what fight [they] want to have this day, it's to say [they’re] happy to live in a land where we can get along. Even though we may not see everything the same — we do have a common commitment to one another as a society,” O’Connor told The Daily Cardinal.
Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, highlighted concerns that the bill could violate citizens’ First Amendment rights, mentioning holidays like Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples Day as examples of how this bill could restrict people of color by not allowing government buildings to recognize these holidays.
O’Connor said the bill is not meant to target any groups, but to take out the “unnecessary division” that occurs from the display of certain flags, emphasizing the bill’s goal to encourage unity.
“I've talked to constituents — it can be in my district, and it can be anybody I run into — if there's a major complaint, it's to stop the divisive action that takes place at the government level, and to do things that unify us,” O’Connor told the Cardinal.
Gov. Tony Evers traditionally raises the pride flag over the Wisconsin State Capitol before every June to kick off the start of Pride Month, but this tradition will cease if this bill is passed.
