New York Governor Signs Bill To Ban Symbols Of Hate On Public Property

On Nov. 2, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that will ban symbols of hate on public property, including police agencies, fire districts, school districts and other municipal corporations. This ban also includes the Confederate flag.

According to NewsDay, Hochul said in a statement, "Symbols of hate have no use other than to spread ignorance and incite violence. As New Yorkers, we must remain united and actively fight to eradicate these attitudes, and this legislation bolsters those efforts. There is no reason for hate to ever be on display, let alone by a police or fire department charged with protecting their community."

State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck), who helped to draft the legislation, said she sponsored the bill after seeing the Confederate flag hung on a Brookhaven Fire Department truck during an August 2020 parade in Patchogue, which is an area of Long Island.

Kaplan said in a statement, "With hate on the rise around the world and in our own community, it’s more urgent than ever that we take action to eradicate it wherever we find it. You would think it was common sense that taxpayer-owned property couldn’t be used as a platform for hate, but shockingly there was no law on the books saying so — until now. Public property belongs to all of us, and this measure is critical to ensure that our public property isn't being used to promote hatred."

The bill goes into effect immediately.