PHOTO: Camping World Facebook
STATESVILLE, North Carolina — An American flag 80 feet long and 40 feet tall flying outside of Gander RV & Camping World in North Carolina is causing issues with the city of Statesville.
In a post on Facebook, Camping world says that a lawsuit has been filed against its store where the city of Statesville in North Carolina is seeking an injunction to get the RV dealer to remove its flag.
The city says that city ordinances say that a flag located within 100 feet of a highway can’t be larger than 25 x 40 feet. The lawsuit says that company was cited in October of 2018 and is set to collect a fine of $50 a day.
CEO and chairman of Camping World Marcus Lemonis told local news station WSOC-TV that the flag isn’t coming down.
“My family has been car dealers, had been car dealers since the 1960s, and our key trademark was always flying our flag in our dealership in South Florida,” he said. “My family is largely immigrants of the country.”
“I don’t care if it goes to $500 a day. It’s not coming down,” he continued.
A change.org petition started by Camping World has gained over 200,000 signatures at the time of writing where they say the fight is more than just a flag, “This is about our Veterans, Military, and the men and women that have sacrificed for this great country. They are the reason we fly the flag and they are the reason we will NOT take it down!”
The city of Statesville told WSOC that Gander RV applied to fly a flag bigger than the ordinance allows in a compromised last year allowing an exemption for a larger flag, but the one currently being flown is still larger than that compromised size.
Statesville city planning staff has told council members in the past that the city can limit flag size, but not the kind of flag and they are worried that allowing this flag could open the door for massive flags that could be considered offensive.