After a public hearing on September 1st, the Sons of Confederate Veterans made this promise to WSLS:
“Are you planning to take legal action against city council?” our reporter asked.
“Certainly, they feel that they have pretty good legal cover, and I think that they've made a mistake making that assumption,” explained Brandon Dorsey, Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV).
After a vote "in favor" of the ordinance, City Council has now planned a work session to further discuss the issue. Lexington's City Manager says some council members have questions about the process the leaders used.
However, Dorsey is hoping council discusses a compromise at that meeting.
“We put out the put the offer of compromise before the vote, during the vote, and now since the vote. But we will press this issue fully in court if we have to,” Dorsey explained.
In fact, Dorsey says his attorneys are working this week on drafting the complaint. So if council won't budge, his group will be ready to file papers in federal court in Roanoke.
“If we have to, we’ll bring them to the negotiating table in front of a judge. But we'll try to avoid that. We're trying to avoid costing taxpayers' money,” Dorsey said.
We asked Lexington Mayor Mimi Elrod if council would try to reach a compromise on flying flags and banners to avoid a lawsuit. She said she doesn't want to speak on behalf of the council, or speculate what will be discussed at the work session, but said the way the ordinance is written now it's unlikely a compromise can be reached.
According to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, their attorneys hired an outside firm to review the case and determine if the group had a legal leg to stand on. The SCV says the researchers agreed if the lawsuit went to court, the SCV would win.
The work session is scheduled for Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
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