Whenever
folks in Penfield, New York get a hankering for pancakes for lunch – they head
over to the 5 Mile Café.
The
family-owned restaurant is known in those parts for serving breakfast any time
of the day (order their homemade corned beef hash). Click here to join Todd’s
American Dispatch: a must-read for conservatives!
They
are also known for their patriotism. “We are very patriotic here at the café –
all year round –not just this time of year,” owner Jennifer Aquino told me. “We
have American flags and patriotic things around the café.”
So
Jennifer decided to ask the town for a permit so she could post a “God Bless
America” banner on the front of her restaurant. She wanted to display the
banner from Memorial Day through Independence Day.
There
was just one significant problem. Penfield has a strict banner allotment
policy. Businesses are only allowed to post banners for a total of three weeks
out of the year. And Jennifer had used up her allotment.
“At
one point we had banners all over the town and the town just looked trashy and
our residents said enough’s enough,” town supervisor Tony LaFountain
told WHEC. Jennifer’s request was denied.
Instead
of posting the banner outside the restaurant, she posted it inside. And that
was that – until the Orlando terrorist attack.
“I
decided on my way to work that I was going to put it up regardless of the town
telling me I couldn’t,” she said. “So I put it up.”
A bit
later that day she received an email from the town telling her to remove the
banner. They warned her that she could face a possible fine for violating the
ordinance.
“I
didn’t take it down,” Jennifer told me. “And I was willing to pay the fine.”
“The
[message on the banner] means a lot to me – especially during this time in our
country with all that’s going on with terrorism,” she said. “I just can’t
believe that I can’t have this banner up and be supported by the town board.”
You
would think most folks would appreciate the sentiment behind “God Bless
America.” Lord knows we need it.
But
rules are rules and the town board does not seem interested in accommodating
Jennifer’s patriotic banner.
“The
fact that I’m being asked to take it down is wrong,” she said. “It’s against my
First Amendment rights. People need to open up their eyes. If we start letting
them tell us we can’t do this – it’s going to get worse.”
Lots
of folks seem to agree with Jennifer’s sentiment. Hundreds and hundreds of
supporters have posted messages on the café’s Facebook page and several
customers have dropped off money – to help pay for any fines.
Jennifer
tells me she never imagined there would be a day like this in America. “I have
lots of veterans in my family,” she said. “I have a cousin who fought in Desert
Storm so that we could have the freedom to hang a banner that says, ‘God bless
America.’” And yet we live in a nation where you can be punished for simply
being patriotic.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary,
heard on hundreds of radio stations. His latest book is "God Less America: Real Stories
From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values." Follow Todd on Twitter@ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/06/30/cafe-told-to-remove-god-bless-america-banner.html
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