At the Earl James Howe Post 298 American Legion in Foley, Minn., club manager Mary Donovan can look around the hall and count the flags. Five hang proudly inside, not including the ones they keep for sale at $25 a piece. And there's the one flying outside. Donovan can also assure you that they are all made in the U.S.A. "We wouldn't have them here if they weren't," she said.
From now on, all flag-waving Minnesotans will have to buy into that policy. A new state law that takes effect Tuesday requires all American flags sold in the state to be manufactured in the United States.
Violations of the law, sponsored by Iron Range legislators Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, and Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, could be punishable by a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.
In Arizona, schools and public colleges were required starting July 1 to put an American-made flag in every classroom from junior high on up. Tennessee requires all U.S. flags bought via state contract to be made domestically, and similar legislation was considered in New Jersey and Pennsylvania this year.
In 2006, $5.3 million worth of American flags were imported into the United States, nearly all of them made in China.
The Times of London sniffed at the anti-imported flag sentiment in its reporting on the Minnesota measure earlier this year, calling the law "a most draconian action" and saying it would "chime with the protectionist mood sweeping America."
But at the Earl James Howe Post, all 250 members are probably in support of the law, Donovan said.
"Just because it's what we believe in. It honors our country," she said.
