CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Carlsbad City Council is responding to requests from residents to fly various flags, including the confederate flag and "straight pride" flag, following last month's decision to fly the Pride flag above City Hall.
The decision by the city council in June has led to more than a dozen requests for other flags to be flown.
"I think it is an issue of fairness... if we allow one group to convey government speech, then we have to evaluate other groups and have a process to that end," said Carlsbad City Councilmember Melanie Burkholder during Tuesday's meeting.
The other flags that Burkholder says her constituents have suggested include the Christian flag, Juneteenth flag, NRA flag and the Confederate flag.
The suggestions elicited a powerful backlash from many speakers during Tuesday evening's city council meeting.
"This proposal in my opinion is a huge step back. The Confederate flag is in the history books and I think it should remain that way," said one Carlsbad resident.
"It would be abominable. It would make Carlsbad a city that is not safe for everyone," said another speaker.
But Burkholder made it clear that she was not proposing the flying of these or any other flags in particular, only to develop a uniform policy around which flags to fly.
Attorney Scott Davidson supports the idea of developing a uniform policy and said not doing so will open the city up to litigation.
So at least from a legal standpoint, at least she has avoided getting personally sued for discrimination," Davidson said.
However, other Carlsbad city leaders pointed to the failed vote in May on adopting an overarching policy on flags.
Carlsbad Mayor Keith Blackburn said that the city has more pressing business to attend to.
"It seems like we got a little derailed, with too much time spent on flags. We are ready to move on," Blackburn said.
WATCH RELATED: Carlsbad fails to pass city hall commemorative flag policy