Bill S.7395-Felder/A.10007-Colton would prevent local governments in the State of New York from requiring a permit for the singing of the National Anthem or the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
This bill would explicitly protect Americans who wish to exercise their First Amendment rights to show their patriotism. Though a bill like this should be unnecessary, recent events reveal the need for clarification in regard to patriotic expressions in public places.
In 2016, the Waynesville Middle School choir from Waynesville, North Carolina visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. The students spontaneously decided to sing the National Anthem to pay their respects to the men and women who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks. Partway through their singing, the students were interrupted by security guards and told they could not sing at the Memorial without obtaining a permit. If Americans must obtain a permit from the government before they are allowed to sing their own National Anthem, something is terribly wrong. Members of the New York State Legislature should find this state of affairs unacceptable.
The New York Young Republican Club urges the prompt passage of bill S.7395-Felder/A.10007-Colton.