Sacramento mayor wants to repeal city law that requires standing for national anthem
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg wants to remove a city code that requires people to stand and salute the flag when the national anthem is played.
The announcement comes the day after The Sacramento Bee reported that a Las Vegas man filed federal lawsuit July 1 against the city alleging the ordinance is unconstitutional. The man, Jack Lipeles, was concerned he could be arrested if he refuses to stand for the national anthem at future Sacramento Kings games, according to the complaint.
Steinberg will place the repeal on the City Council agenda for July 28, the release said. Its repeal requires a simple majority vote.
“There is simply no place today for such required displays of allegiance,” Steinberg said in the news release. “This antiquated statute is particularly offensive given the recent proud actions of athletes and others taking a knee when the anthem is played. Principled protest is the epitome of patriotism.”
The council adopted the ordinance in May 1928 at the request of the Veterans of Foreign Wars as part of a package of protocols on handling the flag, the release said. Steinberg was unaware of the ordinance’s existence until the lawsuit was filed, the release said.
The city code language currently reads: “The song, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ is recognized as the national anthem of the United States. When this music is played on a proper occasion during ceremonials, at the close of concerts, theatres, etc., all present shall stand at attention, facing, or, if no flag is displayed, facing the music, and shall render the salute to the flag.”
Lipeles did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
But Costa Mesa attorney Joseph Adams, who filed the civil rights lawsuit on Lipeles’ behalf, said he would wait to see if the council repeals the code, known officially as Section 1.04.080.
“If Sacramento responds by repealing section 1.04.080, Mr. Lipeles will have achieved his objective and Sacramento will avoid the futility of defending section 1.04.080,” Adams wrote in an email to The Bee.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 1:28 PM.
