Governor bans hate symbols from sale or display on New York state property

On Dec. 15, 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a bill prohibiting the sale or display of “symbols of hate or any similar image” on state property. The bill aimed to limit the dissemination of the Confederate flag, swastikas, and other racist imagery in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

Key Players

Andrew Cuomo was elected as governor of New York in 2011. 

Floyd Abrams is an attorney who frequently appears before the Supreme Court as an advocate for First Amendment issues.

Further Details

According to NBC News, Cuomo accompanied his signing of the bill with a statement: “This country faces a pervasive, growing attitude of intolerance and hate — what I have referred to in the body politic as an American cancer. … By limiting the display and sale of the Confederate flag, Nazi swastika and other symbols of hatred from being displayed or sold on state property, including the state fairgrounds, this bill will help safeguard New Yorkers from the fear-instilling effects of these abhorrent symbols.” 

Following Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, many organizations moved to ban the Confederate flag, given its ties to the Ku Klux Klan and racist ideology. Unilad reported that NASCAR race tracks and U.S. Army bases barred the symbol following widespread anti-racism demonstrations. Similarly, the state of Mississippi voted to change its state flag from a banner that paid tribute to the Confederate symbol to one that depicts the magnolia flower.

The New York law states, “The term ‘symbols of hate’ shall include, but not be limited to, symbols of white supremacy, neo-Nazi ideology or the battle flag of the Confederacy.” The new policy does not affect images appearing in books, on a digital medium, or for educational use, according to Unilad. Before reaching Cuomo, the bill passed by a 57-3 vote in the New York Senate on July 22, 2020. 

But Cuomo’s decision did not come without dispute. Floyd Abrams, a leading First Amendment lawyer, argued the bill was a violation of Free Speech, telling NBC News that “The First Amendment generally protects the expression of even hateful speech, and a statute banning the sale of materials expressing those views on state-owned land is highly likely to be held unconstitutional.” Cuomo agreed to review the policy with the state legislature in light of Free Speech concerns, stating that certain “technical changes” to the bill were in order. 

Outcome

New York Confederate flag ban persists

The law remains in effect in New York. No official amendments of the bill have been proposed regarding its positioning on Free Speech.

New York state senator proposes similar legislation in Long Island 

In February 2021, New York state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D) proposed a law banning the display of political campaign banners and insignias on public property and equipment at the local level, in response to a Long Island firehouse displaying a Confederate flag and later a Trump flag, Newsday reported. The firehouse, which also displayed the Confederate flag in a parade held in the village of Patchogue earlier in 2020, released a statement in favor of Kaplan’s legislation.