Johnstown, Pa. (WJAC) — Ebensburg Borough Council members hosted a town hall meeting Wednesday evening, at the Young People's Community Center, to discuss the idea of banning of confederate flags from public events.
Members from the group "Inclusive Ebensburg" and other residents attended the town hall, wearing black in solidarity, saying they want to ban the flag.
Ultimatley, Council President Tusing said the Borough Council does not have the authority to ban the confederate flag, because it would be an infringement upon First Amendment rights.
"But as we all know, just because something is legal, does not necessarily make it right," Tusing said.
Raquel Lemelle is an Ebensburg Resident who started a petition on change.org titled "Ban the Confederate Flag from Ebensburg town sanctioned events."
Her petition came after she saw a man driving through the Ebensburg Memorial Day Parade with a confederate flag waving from the back of his tractor.
"I felt really sad for the African American families in our community that had to witness that symbol of hate on Memorial Day," Lemelle said.
As of Wednesday night, her petition had around 2,700 signatures.
"I just knew I needed to take the next step, and that was creating the petition," Lemelle added.
She writes in her petition, "The confederate flag was designed to represent a divided nation. Pennsylvania was never in the Confederacy and the veterans we honor from our community fought for the Union. The flag is a symbol embraced by hate groups and represents racism, slavery, rejection, and division."
Council President Tusing said he feels the display of the confederate flag at Ebensburg Borough events dishonors veterans in Cambria County.
He says the Borough Council didn't know the man displaying the confederate flag would be in the Memorial Day Parade.
Ebensburg residents Chuck and Patti Bagley say the ban shouldn't happen.
"First it's the flag. Next it's Christmas. The next thing you know, it's the Ten Commandments. So it's our belief that somebody needs to stand up and say hey, time out here," Chuck said.
Some see the confederate flag as a symbol of heritage, regional pride, and state's rights.
The Bagley couple said they do not personally agree with the confederate flag, but they say they feel banning it would lead to a "slippery slope" of other bans.
"When you start censoring things, it is just opening up a can of worms, and it's going to continue to spiral," Patti said.
Tusing said the only way the confederate flag can be banned from events is if they are organized privately.
A representative of the Main Street Partnership went up to the microphone during the public comment section of the meeting, offering for the organization to take over the Memorial Day Parade, so the ban could happen.
Council members did not respond to her request during the meeting.
(Council President Tusing said the statements made in his prepared speech were his own opinions, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mayor and his fellow council members.)
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