Dr. Bruce Cook, PCO | Monday, September 11, 2023
Dear Mayor Markley and Gig Harbor City Council Members:
Below are my comments concerning the proposed Flag Policy in the City of Gig Harbor. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word “flag” used as a noun as: “a piece of cloth, usually rectangular and attached to a pole at one edge, that has a pattern that shows it represents a country or a group, or has a particular meaning.”
Historically, the flags typically and most commonly flown by American cities, towns, and municipalities have been the U.S. flag and/or its various predecessors, and the respective state or territorial flag belonging to each region. The purpose of such flags is to help instill a national and to a lesser extent state identity and allegiance, a sense of patriotism and love of country, a system of laws and courts and government and commerce, clear boundaries, and an implied promise of federal aid and assistance of various types and kinds in times of natural and economic disasters and wars.
According to the results of a national 2022 Gallup poll research survey, 7.1% of U.S. adults consider themselves to have an LGBT identity. That is approximately the same percentage of the population that are military veterans nationally. However, in Washington State, the percentage of residents who are military veterans is 13.2%, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (2020 data).
This progressive council, in its desire to align politically with neighboring cities in the region with liberal policies such as Bremerton and Seattle, proposes to fly the flag of a minority group that does not represent the values or lifestyles of a majority of this area’s population and voters at multiple locations in Gig Harbor. Strangely, and of concern, this Council apparently has not undertaken any comparable study to consider whether to hoist or raise the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) flag in the City of Gig Harbor, despite the simple math that nearly twice as many residents in Washington State are military veterans as those self-identifying as being LGBT.
If the Mayor and City Council adopt this proposed Flag Policy as currently written, this would not only send a clear message to our many military members and their families, as well as veterans, in the area who serve in a Drag Queen Story Hour and other such activities are considered as more valuable and important to society and the local community than service to one or more of the several branches of the U.S. armed forces in defense of our nation, at times offered while in harm’s way at the risk of life and limb.
In addition, if the Mayor and City Council adopt and approve the proposed Flag Policy in its current form, it would open a veritable Pandora’s Box, in my opinion, for the City of Gig Harbor. If one minority group of only 7% of the population that does not represent the vast majority of Americans or those living in the 26th Legislative District, is approved to have their flag displayed by the City of Gig Harbor on City-owned property, who or what is to stop other local groups from expecting, requesting and demanding the same equal treatment from the City?
For example, roughly 17% of Washington residents are Catholic, compared to 22-23% of the population nationally. Should Catholics be allowed to raise their flag in Gig Harbor? What about the Lions Club, Elks Club, Rotary Club, Gig Harbor Yacht Club, Gig Harbor Sportsman’s Club, Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce, and a dozen or a hundred other groups we could list, including the local school districts? Where does this kind of myopic policy end, except in litigation and courtroom battles? Those who vote to adopt and approve this proposed Flag Policy in its current form will be setting a dangerous precedent, violating historical norms, making an expensive mistake, and opening a Pandora’s Box of trouble for the City of Gig Harbor, in my opinion.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Bruce Cook
20422 30th St. SW
Lakebay, WA 98349