This really is outrageous. In an attempt to make a local burial ground look more pleasant, the local town of Mineral Wells went one step too far by banning the US flag except around Memorial day and Veterans day. Needless to say the citizens are outraged and are making their voices heard:
DAILY MAIL – Families of late veterans are furious after a town in Texas decided to ban US flags from being displayed at graveyards.
Flags will only be allowed in the week before and after Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day, Mineral Wells city council have said.
This does not provide for Independence Day on July 4, Labor Day or other popular flag holidays.
The rules also state that flowers and decorations will be allowed for only 21 days after a funeral, and that flowers must be in non-glass vases and will be removed once they became ‘unsightly.’
Outraged citizens flooded the council office with calls on Monday, and officials have now scheduled a public meeting for July 10 to discuss the policy.
Veteran Robert Veach, whose father is buried at Woodland Park, was one of the first to speak out against it, telling the Mineral Wells Index that he believed he should be allowed to put a flag at his father’s grave 365 days a year.
Peggy Gustin, administrative clerk for Mineral Wells, said the policy had been adopted by the Woodland Park Cemetery Board because the number of items placed at gravesites, including teddy bears, statues, bird baths and squirrel feeders, was getting out of control.
‘Excessive adornment at the cemetery was causing it to be unsightly, so the cemetery board came up with a solution that they thought would work for all,’ Ms Gustin told ABCNews.com.
The ordinance was passed after several public meetings held over several months, according to the council.