City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 3, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: JEREMY MCPIKE, DIRECTOR OF GENERAL SERVICES
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution Designating Certain Flags to Be Flown on Certain City Properties in Accordance with the City's Flag Policy. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
ISSUE: Designation of certain flags to be flown on certain City properties in accordance with the City's flag policy.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council approve the attached resolution designating certain flags to be flown on certain City flagpoles or other flag-flying locations owned by the City in accordance with City's flag policy.
BACKGROUND: On May 2, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States held, in Shurtleff v. Boston, that the City of Boston, Massachusetts violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment by barring a religious group from flying the Christian flag on a flagpole outside of Boston's city hall. The Supreme Court held that while flags flying outside of Boston's city hall usually convey the city's speech, because Boston (1) allowed private entities to use the flagpole in front of City Hall, but did not actively control the flag raising nor shape the messages the flags sent, and (2) did not have a written policy on what flags groups could fly and what flags could communicate, Boston effectively turned one of their flagpoles into a designated public forum, and as such could not discriminate based on the speech or expression offered in that public forum. The Shurtleff case was largely decided on 1) Boston's lack of editorial control over flags flown on its flagpole, and 2) that Boston did not have a written policy on who may fly flags, what may be on them, nor how to decide which flags could be flown.
On October 25, 2022, in response to the Shurtleff decision, City Council adopted Resolution No. 3105 declaring that any e...
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