Rep. Bob Cortes' patriotism is inspirational, I can see that and applaud him for it. But ...
The Altamonte Springs Republican is repeating a bill that would require -- not recommend,require-- every government in Florida to purchase American flags and Florida flags made only in-state after Jan. 1, 2016.
What Cortes is proposing is something called the "All-American Flag Act." Last year, inspired by high school students who did much of the ground work, Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, and Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, proposed virtually the same bill as this year's Flag Act. Bradley's never made it to the first committee; Workman's survived one subcommittee, but then got blown out.
To comply withHB 225, everything to do with a state flag or the Stars and Stripes would have to be grown in the U.S.A., produced here and manufactured here. To fly anything else would result in a second-degree misdemeanor charge.
Let's think about that for a moment.
True, three other states in the nation -- Arizona, Massachusetts and Minnesota -- have some form of the All-American Flag Act on their books.
But, why do we or any other state need to do this? Why would we single out flags for closed trade? If it's because a flag is a symbol of our patriotism, then why stop there? Why not cut Florida consumers off from all the other symbols of our national pride? No more Fourth of July fireworks or other symbols of our most patriotic day from China or anywhere else in the Far East.
No more Florida souvenirs showing symbols of the state made anywhere outside of the U.S.A. Why shouldn't souvenir shops flogging state pride, including the ones, for example, in the state Capitol and in the Museum of Florida History, be subject to the same trade rules? If I can buy on a government property a flag-replica tie or scarf or beach towel made in a foreign country, why can't my city -- with a budget to balance -- buy a foreign-made flag without penalty of law?
As pro-American as it sounds to keep our flags, symbols of national and state pride, in our own hands where they are truly revered, it sounds just as un-American to dictate the product selection of any free- and open-market item. It just doesn't feel right.
According to data from the U.S. Census, 94 percent or $3.6 million worth of the flags imported into the U.S. in 2012 came from China. American manufacturers still make up the bulk of the business, says the Huffington Post, "producing more than $300 million worth of American flags, banners and similar items in 2007, the latest year for which data is available."
U.S. law does require that flags purchased by the federal government are made of at least 50 percent American materials.
But finding a flag made of materials produced in America can be tricky, says HuffPo. U.S. law requires that every flag be labeled with its country of origin, but unless your flag has a specific certification, its difficult to be sure it was made using all-American materials -- including dye, thread and so forth -- and U.S.-based labor.
American flag manufacturers aren't getting shafted. They even have their own lobby, the Flag Manufacturers Association of America. They can take care of themselves. Theirs is an organization that can, and does, certify every American flag genuinely made in America.
The bottom line is this: There is simply no gripping need to hoist the All-American Flag Act in Florida. Most of our citizens, particularly government officials, will always buy American when they can. But certainly the Legislature can find effective ways to encourage them to "fly American" without compelling them to do it by passing another law.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423.
