GOP lawmaker threatens college funding cuts over flag bans

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) introduced legislation to rescind federal education funding to colleges that ban displays of the American flag on campus.

Duffy’s measure comes in response to students at the University of California-Irvine voting this month to ban hanging flags – American or otherwise – in the lobby of student government offices as a means of making the campus “more inclusive.” The vote was later overturned by student leaders after controversy ensued.

{mosads}The original resolution stated the American flag is typically flown in locations associated with the government and that its “symbolism has negative and positive aspects that are interpreted differently by individuals.”

Duffy suggested that banning the American flag amounted to being unpatriotic.

“If a school chooses not to display the American flag, it also chooses not to receive American taxpayer dollars,” the Wisconsin Republican said in a statement.