An NPR report earlier this week stated that Governor Ron DeSantis’ tweet revealing the Gadsden flag on Florida’s license plates reignited the discussion regarding the controversy surrounding the flag.
The majority of the left-leaning crowd claims it to be synonymous with “far-right extremism.”
The thing is though, the infamous “Don’t Tread on Me” flag has practically existed since the birth of our nation; it took nearly 250 years for the liberals to begin associating it with a “dangerous” ideology.
Florida governor under fire from snowflakes once again
It’s often connected to the 2020 “Stop The Steal” movement, which culminated with the 2021 Capitol attack.
Somebody told me the Gadsden Flag is now controversial so some snowflake must have gotten triggered and had a hissy fit. This flag has a long history in South Carolina and was designed by one of the states most famous sons. pic.twitter.com/W7CFWE9Zcw
— Aedanus Burke (@aedanusburke) August 11, 2022
The Florida governor initially tweeted the image on July 30th, announcing any pre-orders for the license plates will have their proceeds going directly to the Florida Veterans Foundation, much to the dismay of the liberal Twitter netizens.
However, it wasn’t just Twitter that reacted to DeSantis’ move. A number of other critics responded to the announcement, with Rachel Carroll Rivas from the Southern Poverty Law Center claiming the flag is synonymous with some “really awful” causes.
While it’s true that a number of the protesters at the January 6th Capitol attack were wawing the Gadsden flag, it doesn’t necessarily indicate any correlation with “far-right extremist ideologies.”
The left are so stupid. Now the Gadsden flag whose message is basically (“I’m warning you, don’t be a tyrant”) is a “dangerous far right extremist ideology.”
Well yeah, tyrants don’t like being warned against what they intend to do. A very American message with historical value. pic.twitter.com/2hngNI4EsI— LactoseIntolerantReturned (@BeVrHuckleB3rry) August 12, 2022
Gadsden flag protected by First Amendment
Currently, both the flag and the motto it carries are protected by America’s First Amendment, regardless of where they’re depicted. This means the social media fallout that happens every time the flag is trending is completely pointless.
This means just like the ever-present Pride flag that not many dare to speak up against, the Gadsden flag is perfectly legitimate and protected by free speech laws, whether it’s being waved inside the Capitol or on your car’s license plates.
What’s more, Florida isn’t even the first state to approve political messages of the sort on their license plates. Kansas approved the Gadsden flag mere weeks after January 6th, albeit the design got vetoed by Democrat Governor Laura Kelly.
We ARE NOT conceding our Gadsden Flag to the Biden Administration, or Christopher Wray’s FBI. If you're an American, this is a hill worth dying on.
So let's understand the history of the Gadsden Flag. (A definitive thread.) pic.twitter.com/lp5Q1Xwrv6
— The Panic (@ThePanic16) August 2, 2022
A couple of months later, DeSantis also tweeted the first design of Florida’s Gadsden flag plates, right after demanding a ban to be imposed on the vaccine mandates that the left was so fond of.
Thankfully, one year later, the design has become a reality. While it may cause more than a handful of outbursts from the snowflakes offended by it, it doesn’t remove the fact the rattlesnake-decorated flag is an important piece of American history.
DeSantis has proven himself time and time again to be a true patriot. It’d be a shame for a man of his caliber not to attempt a run for office in 2024, even if he’d already announced he’d be running for governor again.
This article appeared in The Record Daily and has been published here with permission.
