The City of Sacramento has paid a $17,000 settlement in a lawsuit over a former ordinance that required residents to stand and salute the American flag while The Star-Spangled Banner was performed, reports ABC10.
The Sacramento Bee reported that the lawsuit was filed by attorneys on behalf of Jack Lipeles in July 2020.
The ordinance was adopted by the city in 1928, according to ABC10.
City leaders, including Mayor Darrell Steinberg, said they weren't even aware of the ordinance until Lipeles filed the lawsuit challenging it.
"There is simply no place today for such required displays of allegiance," said Steinberg upon learning of the lawsuit in 2020.
City Council voted to recall the ordinance in a July 2020 meeting and the "repeal ordinance" went into effect on September 17, 2020.
“The City Council acted on this matter by rescinding the old ordinance very quickly. We are pleased that we were able to resolve this case expeditiously and for a limited amount of attorney’s fees,” City Attorney Susana Alcala said in a statement after the settlement.
ABC10 says the ordinance was enacted at the request of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) as part of a set of protocols around flag handling in May 1928.
Photo: Getty Images