[ April 19, 2024 ]
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Camping Company CEO Risks Jail For Flying U.S. Flag Over Store
By Joseph Curl, Daily Wire, May 24, 2019:
Marcus Lemonis is prepared to go to jail over an American flag his company is flying over one of his stores.
“We have flown this flag for a long time,” Lemonis said. “As I told the city…it’s not coming down under any circumstance.”
Lemonis is chief operating officer of Gander RV. He’s been flying a huge flag — 40 feet by 80 feet, or 3,200 square feet, the size of a fairly large house — over a store in Statesville, N.C.
Story continues below advertisementBut city officials say the flag is too big. They filed a lawsuit May 7 against Holiday Kamper Co. -– which is the parent company of the store formerly known as Camping World. If Lemonis doesn’t take action within 30 days, he could be jailed.
Statesville City Attorney Leah Messick said in the filing that the company applied for a permit to fly a 40 foot by 25 foot flag but instead raised the bigger one. “In June, 2018, Gander RV (formerly known as Camping World) filed an application with the Statesville Planning Department to display a 40×25-foot flag on its property. The permit was approved, but when the flag was raised two months later, it was determined the company was flying a 40×80-foot flag, which is prohibited by City ordinance,” the filing says.
Lemonis, though, said on Fox News that he’s not budging.
“I would never want to break the law or be in contempt of any court of any kind, but in this particular situation, I understand that if I don’t comply with that order that I could and would be arrested and out in jail until the flag came down,” he said.
“I don’t normally advocate for violating ordinances and things of that nature, but we have 14,000 employees and several million customers and I have a fiduciary responsibility to follow their edict as well,” Lemonis added.
Lemonis said his company flies the same size flag in 180 cities and it hasn’t been a problem. “We know that before the flag pole goes up and before the flag goes up we want to ensure that people are safe. We are not messing with the FAA in terms of air traffic rules,” he said.
The brouhaha started last October when the city notified the company that it would be fined $50 every day until the flag came down. The tab now tops $10,000.
Lemonis, who owns 36 million shares of Camping World, says he is willing to pay the legal fines if asked by the board of directors and the company. “In this particular case, I think the board of directors and the company would like to pay the fine themselves because they believe that this is a stance of our company, not just a market stance,” he said.
A Change.org petition has popped up titled “Let Camping World & Gander Outdoors Fly The American Flag!”
“The City of Statesville has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to require Gander RV in Statesville, NC to take down their American Flag. They are imposing a $50/day fine retroactive to 10/15/18,” the petition says.
The petition was looking for 30,000 signatures. Right now they have 213,787.
“Many cities like Statesville have requested that Camping World and Gander Outdoors take down their American Flags. WE WON’T DO IT! Stand with us. This is about more than just the flag. This is about our Veterans, Military, and the men and women that have sacrificed for this great country. They are the reason we fly the flag and they are the reason we will NOT take it down!”
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48 Comments
4 years ago
The Mason and Dixon line needs to become a physical barrier to keep blue state assh0les out of the South. Virginia and now North Carolina are lost.
4 years ago
So revise the permit application with a variance and approve it. …
It certainly would be approved if it was a Rainbow Swastika …
4 years ago
Reply to
Dan Knight
In California is it customary for a high school graduation to wave a MEXICAN flag to celebrate.
In some schools, shirts with a U.S. flag on them are “offensive” and wearers have been asked NOT to wear them to school to avoid violence.
Court: Schools Can Ban American Flag Shirts While Allowing Mexican Flag Shirts
Written by: Off The Grid News Staff Current Events
March 1, 2014
School officials can constitutionally suppress free speech in the name of “safety,” a federal appeals court has ruled.
A panel of the US Ninth Circuit Court Appeals ruled that it was OK for high school administrators to ask students to remove American flag T-shirts during a 2010 Cinco de Mayo Celebration.
Many parents were outraged.
“This is the United States of America,” parent Kendall Jones said. Jones’ son, Daniel Galli, was sent home from Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California, because he wore an American flag t-shirt. “The idea that it’s offensive to wear patriotic clothing … regardless of what day it is, is unconscionable to me.”
Administrators asked four students not to wear US flag T-shirts because they were afraid such shirts would provoke violence between Latino and other students on Cinco de Mayo. One of the students who was asked to remove the US flag was Dominic Maciel, who is a second-generation Mexican-American. Another of the students, Matthew Dariano, is also of Mexican heritage.
The parents felt that the school had violated the students’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The parents and attorney William Becker alleged that administrators exaggerated the threat of violence and, they said, officials didn’t ask other students to remove clothes with the Mexican flag.
How The Controversy Began
More here: https://www.offthegridnews.com/current-events/court-schools-can-ban-american-flag-shirts-while-allowing-mexican-flag-shirts/
4 years ago
Government and corruption go hand in hand.
4 years ago
I bet the city would be ok with the crescent moon and star or the isis black flag maybe.
4 years ago
Reply to
Ziggy46
That would show tolerance and diversity.
I guess I’m just a bigot who discriminates.
4 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
You aren’t flying solo, Felix, One has to discriminate or be selective
to survive , it has always been thus. The most bigoted brag about their
tolerance and sense of diversity; it is they who are the greatest
bigots.
4 years ago
Reply to
Ziggy46
There are days when I feel like I am on the outside looking in.
At another time I will elaborate more.
No doubt the “transformation” the black freak promised is blooming. It is disheartening……
4 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
I believe, I know what you mean, Felix. The “black freak”, I love it. There are days, perhaps many days, I think, “Stop the World, I want to Get Off.” I look forward to your elaboration; methinks, mine is similar.
4 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
I too discriminate against those who hate American, are determined to destroy us…while taking billions in “entitlements” from the American taxpayers.
4 years ago
Reply to
0349 JAT
Oh yes, and in that case, it’s our duty to tear that down because it’s an ENEMY flag.
4 years ago
This is just too stupid. Nobody says they can’t fly a flag. They just can’t fly a circus tent with some stars & stripes on it and call it a flag. Is this grandstanding putz seriously claiming that an American flag which is a mere 40×25 feet in size is an insult to veterans, but that a 40×80 foot flag isn’t? I’m skeptical that any veterans are really all that fussy.
4 years ago
Reply to
Tom Swift
The law states that if you are in America , you are allowed by LAW to fly OUR FLAG !!! Tell ’em to pis up a rope and laugh at ’em !
SEE YA IN SUPREME COURT ASSHOLES !!!!
4 years ago
Reply to
Tom Swift
So that’s your answer… capitulate….. This is just the thin edge of the problem…. Never try to appease bullies, they just come back for a larger bite..
4 years ago
Stand tall against a city ordinance that has no rational basis when the flying of this flag is not dangerous to anyone or thing. Be proud to fly such a flag. I hope that the city backs off its position, as it is time to once again respect what being a proud American is all about! I am sick of hearing from those who bad mouth our country and many of our allies. Our country is facing foreigners among us who cannot seem to assimilate into what being an American first is all about. This flag, and the reasons given to fly it, stands out as that reason.
4 years ago
Then these wussies better stay away from Sheboygan, WI with the world’s tallest American flag, flying
at 400 ft!
4 years ago
File a lawsuit under First Amendment Rights. Size isn’t the issue, free speech and patriotism is the issue.
4 years ago
ANOTHER “GREAT DAY” FOR THE ENEMIES FROM INSIDE !
W A K E U P !!!!!
4 years ago
Reply to
Kputt
Jefferson said that America could never be destroyed from without….only from within. The “enemies” are doing that and are well on their way to take us down from within. When you have America hating Omar, Ellison, Tlaib, and AOC in our Congress, you know we’re in trouble.
4 years ago
Reply to
ladywarrior
You got that right what is being allowed to happen to the govt and the country is hard to believe !
4 years ago
My understanding is that flag has been flying there for years with no issues.
Maybe they should just get the stupid permit to fly a flag of that size.
Since when should we need a PERMIT to fly our flag?
The truth is a flag isn’t wanted for what they have in mind for us. They don’t want flags for countries.
They want us to be one big happy global family with open borders, mass immigration, no sovereignty, no cultural identity and certainly no a flag that would UNITE us for all the attributes they want removed.
4 years ago
Whites are still the majority in the U.S..
It’s not 50% or less yet.
Let’s make the most of that before they normalize cannibalism here.
Cannibalism is becoming more popular again. Mohammad and his men often engaged in it.
A Jihadist in Syria brags about cutting out a heart and eating it.
https://ivarfjeld.com/2014/07/29/cannibalism-among-jihad-soldiers-in-syria/
4 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
Geesh! They could be right….
and of that percentage I wonder how many are brain dead white liberals.
4 years ago
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation united, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all
4 years ago
The Flag is not too big. The cities official heads are too small.
IF the flag is engineered to fly safely and is coupled securely, should not be a worry.
4 years ago
I fly a US flag, a Texas flag, and a “Trump 2020 No More Bullsh*t” flag on my pole in front of my house and no one complains. Maybe the sign on the front gate that says “Property protected by Glock” has something to do with that.
Be safe, be trained, be alert.
4 years ago
Let us be sensible here. He is not being prosecuted for flying the flag he is being prosecuted for defying the city ordinance and failing to observe the limitations of his application. No need for hysteria about T shirts or this flag as opposed to another flag, which is irrelevant. If he chooses to be intransigent about it he deserves what he gets.
4 years ago
Good grief! Whoever makes those asinine rules needs to be flogged.
4 years ago
First they came for the Christian Cross and the Star of David, then they came for monuments to Confederate Generals, then they came for monuments to Confederate soldiers, then they came for monuments to Washington and Jefferson. Now they come for the flag. Soon they will come for you.
4 years ago
I would really like to know why a compromise has not been reached to change the ordinance???? It seems like a simple solution to a simple problem. Where is the “common sense” in this issue. Has the City Council been asked by the board/owner of Camping World to change their ordinance?? I smell something that ain’t right here. Can someone cough up these answers ??
4 years ago
Why is the size of the flag an issue. Who decided that the flag was “too big”?
4 years ago
Some laws exist for no reason other than the lawmaker’s ability to assert his power. Bad laws make good laws questionable at times. We have laws that you can’t buy alcohol on a Sunday in some places, yet you can drive 5 miles away and purchase it.
When you have a giant flag flying over your business, and your city objects, they should have a valid reason why it became problematic. Their next step may be equally unimportant or stupid. Perhaps they can outlaw important stuff, like people wearing green hats. A law must suit a purpose in order to be important enough to enforce. We should always encourage patriotism, even if it flies in the face of Democrats. It is an American Flag, on private property. There are no safety issues, so why is this against the rules?
4 years ago
There is a Camping World in south Tucson, right off of the I-10. I salute the flag every time I drive by. Do NOT take that flag down. Petty bureaucrats trying to push the citizens around once again. What is it with men and their obsession over size? lol
4 years ago
Be defiant! Fly 5, or 10.. 15 more big flags.
4 years ago
It will be so cold in h ell when I take down “Old Glory” that them crispy critters will be wearing North Face jackets,ice skating and licking beer popsicles…
As far as I am concerned ANYONE complaining about “Old Glory” regardless of size comes under the category of “Enemies DOMESTIC” in the oath of enlistment I took when I entered the US Marine Corps and WILL be treated as such.
Come and take it commie scum,I got something forya’ll.
Long May She Wave
Semper Fi
SBGO-13% Pork
On Amazon.
