Outcry prompts county to lower flags

To express his discontent with the decision of the Cole County Commission to not lower the flags to half-staff, Leonard Steinman lowered the flags at the courthouse to half-staff then sat on the bench until Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher came out of a meeting to talk to him. Hoelscher agreed it was a heinous act perpetrated by the shooter in Orlando but said he disagreed that the flags should be at half-staff. He said he respected his right to disagree with the commission's decision which later in the day was reversed.
To express his discontent with the decision of the Cole County Commission to not lower the flags to half-staff, Leonard Steinman lowered the flags at the courthouse to half-staff then sat on the bench until Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher came out of a meeting to talk to him. Hoelscher agreed it was a heinous act perpetrated by the shooter in Orlando but said he disagreed that the flags should be at half-staff. He said he respected his right to disagree with the commission's decision which later in the day was reversed.

Cole County reversed its decision Tuesday not to lower its flags in honor of the victims of the Orlando mass shootings after a public outcry that included a local man lowering the flags himself.

The Cole County Commission changed course after multiple discussions on whether lowering them adhered to county policy.

Cole County Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle on Tuesday afternoon changed his earlier vote against lowering flags to half-staff at county offices. The move came after the commission received many calls and social media messages against its decision, which was widely publicized Tuesday.

"In spite of the fact that my vote was in accordance with Cole County's flag ordinance and federal law, I reconsider my original vote (position) due to the negative attention this has brought Cole County," Scheperle said in a statement. "The bottom line is my concern for Cole County citizens!"

The flags were lowered after 2 p.m.

Cole County Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman was the sole commissioner voting Monday to lower the flags, saying he thought it was important to show unity at all levels of government. However, Scheperle and Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher voted Monday against lowering the flags, citing county policy specifying when flags should be lowered.

The events that led to the change started around 11 a.m. Tuesday, when Jefferson City resident Leonard Steinman, a Vietnam-era veteran and current Democratic gubernatorial candidate, lowered the flags himself.

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation Sunday for flags to be lowered "upon all public buildings and grounds" following the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub.

Steinman said county commissioners "have no right to not follow a directive from the federal government, since they get funds to run their government from them."

He had gone to the Courthouse Annex to talk with commissioners Tuesday morning about their decision, and when the commissioners decided not to change their stance, Steinman went out and lowered the flags, then sat on a bench on the sidewalk with an umbrella waiting to see what would happen.

Commissioners were in a planned closed session when they were notified Steinman had lowered the flags on the flagpole at the corner of High and Monroe streets.

The commission ended the closed session, and Scheperle went out to talk to Steinman. After roughly 10 minutes, the conversation ended, and the two parted ways.

After Steinman left the courthouse grounds, the flags were raised to full staff around noon by county maintenance staff, as directed by the commission.

Since the commission's Monday decision was announced, there had been calls to the commission office and social media comments, many against the decision.

Hoelscher said he still stood by the decision he and Scheperle made.

"I still feel that lowering it too much takes away from the honor," Hoelscher said. "We did not lower flags after the mass shootings at Sandy Hook in December 2012 when 20 children were killed - and we got no calls about that."

Officials have said the Orlando case at a nightclub catering to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people is the worst mass shooting in the nation's history.

Later taking to Facebook to address the matter, Hoelscher said, "I have already been called racist and a bigot anyone trying to drag race or sexual orientation into this decision, shame on you! It has nothing to do with it.

"I take this job very seriously and do not take these decisions lightly! You may still not agree with me and I respect your opinion and I hope we can disagree respectfully."

Bushman said there never was any ill will among the commissioners following the decision.

"We take votes, and majority rules," he said. "We like to say when we take votes we are one of three, so not all decisions are unanimous."

In September 2015, county commissioners decided not to make any changes to the county flag ordinance.

That ordinance states flags are to be flown at half-staff on days such as Memorial Day and Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15; by order of the president upon the death of principal figures of the U.S. government or for a member of the U.S. armed forces; by order of the governor upon the death of a member of the U.S. armed forces from Missouri; and Pearl Harbor Day on Dec. 7.

"The ordinance was originally passed in 2012 to give direction on county policy regarding lowering flags to half staff, due to a series of proclamations by the president for lowering flags after mass shootings," said Cole County Attorney Jill LaHue.

"The ordinance includes all the dates specified in the federal statute. The federal statute also says that the president can issue a proclamation for other dates as he/she sees appropriate.

"The commission ordinance states that the county will lower the flag on those other occasions specified by the president, and also dates specified by the governor, by consensus of the commission. Until now, the commission has lowered county flags only on the dates specified by Congress."

LaHue added: "The reasoning for this is that the commissioners believed that people are murdered every day, and that a life taken individually or in a smaller group is no less worthy of memorializing than a life taken in a larger group situation.

"In short, honoring only victims of mass murders implies less respect for other victims. Second, it is the commission's opinion that when the president uses the term 'public buildings' in the proclamations, that applies to federal buildings only and that he does not have authority to dictate protocol for local government or state buildings.

"In fact, the governor's proclamations lowering the flag specify only state buildings."

PROMO, a statewide organization advocating for LGBT rights, put pressure on the commission Tuesday, sharing the story on Facebook, but not making any formal call to action.

"I think for the families of the victims and the LGBT community, especially in Cole County, that is very hurtful," said Katie Stuckenschneider, PROMO's communication director. "The LGBT community is fearful, sad and upset, so when something like this happens it feels disrespectful - period - to not lower the flag when this would normally be done."

After the commission reversed its decision, Stuckenschneider said: "We're thankful Cole County chose to do the right thing and respect the victims and their families and loved ones."

City, state and federal offices around Jefferson City lowered flags Monday, as did a number of private businesses that are not covered by the presidential proclamation.

That proclamation calls for the flags to stay at half-staff through sunset Thursday.

Previous coverage:

Flags lowered at Cole County facilities

County won't fly flags at half-staff