ENFIELD, N.Y. — The Enfield town board voted Wednesday to change the way the pledge of allegiance is brought up at meetings, following contention and backlash since it was removed last month.
The board voted 4-1 in favor of a resolution proposed by Town Supervisor Beth McGee that would give councilpersons or attendees to the meeting added time to recite the pledge of allegiance during public comment period in addition to their three minutes of allotted time.
The resolution also added wording to the standard agenda for meetings that invites those individuals to recite the pledge, with added guidance to make it clear that saying the pledge is optional.
The new agenda’s wording will read: “Privilege of The Floor- Limited to 3 minutes per speaker, including the Pledge of Allegiance if you so choose (guidance on the back of this page).”
The additional guidance and resolution adopted by the board can be found at the bottom of this article.
The special meeting Wednesday was originally called to consider a resolution by Councilperson Robert Lynch that would’ve reinstated the pledge itself in its own position on the agenda. His resolution would require the meeting’s presiding officer, almost always McGee, to “request all Board members and meeting attendees who are able to stand and face the flag in respectful reverence, and to designate a Board member to lead in that Pledge”.
“That sounds like North Korea to me. I’m sorry,” McGee said laughing to a part of Lynch’s resolution, which was taken up, but was tabled and not reconsidered by the board after it approved McGee’s legislation. Lynch consistently voted against other board members, and was the only “no” vote for passing the final legislation. He argued that McGee’s resolution wasn’t strong enough.
“I’m talking about respect for that flag,” Lynch argued. “I’m talking about respect for our country, the United States of America, which I’m damn proud to be a resident of and a citizen of.”
Over 20 people spoke at the meeting, with varying opinions on the pledge resolution, though a majority of speakers opted in favor of Lynch’s resolution. Public comment and action on the pledge resolutions occupied over two hours of the meeting, some of which became very contentious.
At an organizational meeting in January, councilperson Stephanie Redmond brought up the question over whether the board could remove part of the pledge of allegiance, given her concerns that the line “under god” blurs the lines between church and state. Lynch disagreed and contends that reciting the pledge is a matter of pride and loyalty that deserves to be formally recited at each meeting.
“That never happened in this room and your misinformation campaign on this and many other issues is shameful,” McGee said to Lynch. “More respect has been happening to this flag and pledging allegiance to it in these proceedings over the last month than at any other time. So I really take offense to you spreading that misinformation. It’s just not true.”
Before considering the resolutions, McGee asked if anyone in the audience wanted to recite the pledge, a majority of attendees did. McGee and Redmond did not, but stood and faced the flag with hands crossed.
Enfield Flag Agenda Changes by Thomas Pudney on Scribd