Washington Supreme Court To Review Refusal To Fly A Christian Flag

The Washington Supreme Court has on Tuesday, said it will consider whether the city of Boston was wrong when it refused to let an organization fly a Christian flag in front of City Hall.

Boston says the flagpole is an expression of the city's views and therefore letting the Christian flag fly, would amount to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

Boston's legal position is opposed by the Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union. They had said that the city cannot censor a religious message in what amounts to a public forum.

NBC News reports that under previous Supreme Court rulings, if the flagpole is considered government speech, then the city can say, or decline to say, whatever it wants. But if the flagpole is deemed a public forum, the government cannot choose which messages to allow and which to ban.

Harold Shurtleff, the founder of Camp Constitution spoke on his case with Boston, as he sought permission to fly what he described as a Christian flag, which the city turned down.

He said his mission is to enhance understanding of the country's Judeo-Christian heritage. His lawyers had argued with the city’s ruling, as they said the city exercises virtually no control over who can use banners, and that in the past 12 years, the city has approved 284 flag-raising events with no record of any denials.

The Supreme Court has said it will issue its decision on the case by late June of 2022.