Virginia city may limit Confederate flag

LEXINGTON, Va. -- About 100 people rallied yesterday evening in opposition to a proposal to limit the flying of the Confederate flag in the rural Virginia city where Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson are buried.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans organized the "Save our Flags" gathering before the city, which was considering an ordinance to limit flags on downtown poles to just those of the United States, Virginia and the city of Lexington. The proposal has angered defenders of the divisive Southern symbol. It would not limit the flag's display elsewhere.

"I am a firm believer in the freedom to express our individual rights, which include flying the flag that we decideto fly," said Philip Way, a Civil War re-enactor who turned out for the late-summer rally clad in a Confederate wool uniform. "That's freedom to me."

Mimi Knight, watching from a wrought iron fence at a sea of Confederate flags in a small city park, was not part of the rally. But she said she thought the city ordinance seemed too restrictive.

"These are the things that make Lexington what it is," she said. "The Confederate flag is part of our heritage."

Supporters of the ordinance were not apparent at the rally.

The event, which was catered, offered up free hot dogs and blue grass music.

Speakers addressed the crowd amid supportive shouts of "Amen." A flyer promoting the rally depicted Lee with a tear rolling down his cheek.

Officials in this college town of 7,000 insist the flag limits are not aimed at the Confederate flag.

"They can carry their flags anywhere they want," City Manager T. Jon Ellestad said. The city received hundreds of complaints the last time Confederate flags were planted in holders on lights poles, in January to mark Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday.

People complained "that displaying the Confederate flag is very hurtful to groups of people," Ellestad said. "In their mind, it stands for the defense of slavery."