Imagine flying the American flag on your car, in America, and being told that you aren’t allowed to?
Sure enough, this exact scenario went down in Bedford County, Virginia, when a high school student was told by school administration that he wasn’t allowed to fly the two American flags that are on his truck.
According to WVLT 8, the student is Christopher Hartless, who says he is just using his First Amendment right to fly the flag on his own car while on school grounds.
He told the outlet:
“My family fought for America, and I feel like I should be able to represent the flags that they fought for.”
His stepmom Christina Kingery said that Hartless went to school last Wednesday with the flags on his truck, but school administrators told him he has to take them down because they were a “distraction.”
However, he refused to take them down.
Hartless said:
“I don’t understand how it’s distracting if they have one on the flagpole that every other student can see.”
Kingery added:
“I told my son if this is what he’s believing in, then we are both going to stand behind him all the way.”
Hartless said that he was once again told this week that he couldn’t fly the flags, and the school also took his parking pass.
Kingery said they don’t want him to ride the bus, so they’re just going to do homeschooling, adding:
“If they’re willing to change and let kids want to fly the American flag, then I’ll put him back in school.”
The high school also shared a statement about the policy, saying:
“Large flags or banners are not allowed to be flown or displayed on vehicles due to their distractive nature.
Please be assured that we proudly fly the American flag throughout our school.”
Needless to say, these are some wild times we’re living in.
