Outside the Arundel Center, the headquarters of Anne Arundel County government in Annapolis, a POW-MIA flag proudly flies. If the county adopts Bill 74-22, it will have to be taken down. The flag honoring those still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War would also be banned from any other county-owned flagpole, nor could it be displayed inside or outside any county building. Under the ordinance filed by County Councilman Nathan Volke, only the national flag of the United States, the state flag of Maryland and the official flag of Anne Arundel County could be displayed anywhere on county property. So farewell, POW-MIA flag, not to mention the flag of Annapolis that includes a tribute to namesake Queen Anne and the Latin phrase, “vixi liber et moriar” or “I have lived free and will die so.”
Of course, that’s not the intent of the ordinance. This is an election year. Volke is clearly trying to score some conservative points by appearing to “protect” his constituents from the possibility that somebody somewhere will display a Black Lives Matter or LGBTQ+ Pride flag on his or her (or their) desk.
Anne Arundel residents can probably take heart from the fact that the measure has little chance of passage. Even if amended to allow the POW-MIA flag — or any other banner judged sufficiently noble and patriotic to Mr. Volke’s standards — the majority Democratic Anne Arundel County Council is likely to reject it after a scheduled hearing set for Sept. 6. Volke, a Republican who represents Pasadena, knows this.
