MADISON, WI (WSAU) – State Senator Patrick Testin’s Star-Spangled Banner Act has passed the Assembly and is now scheduled for a Senate committee hearing next week.
The bill calls for all taxpayer-funded venues- ranging from something as big as Fiserv Forum to as small as your local bar-league softball complex- to play the national anthem before any game. The Stevens Point Republican says he has been pleasantly surprised with the amount of bipartisan support the bill received, especially given the amount of division over symbols such as the flag or anthem.
“Just shy of half of the Assembly Democrats voted in favor of this legislation,” said Testin. “And I’m optimistic that once it gets through committee and gets scheduled for the floor it will pass through our [chamber].”
The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate’s Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review, and Consumer Protection on Tuesday, June 29th.
While much of the focus in Madison is on the upcoming state budget, which is still being finalized, Testin says he hopes that this bill can provide some bipartisan momentum ahead of the vote on the two-year spending plan.
“I think this is an issue that can unify us- Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, and everyone in between. It’s a very straightforward bill; just play the anthem at a taxpayer-funded venue so people can pay their respects,” he said.
“For those who choose not to, they have every right not to do so,” he added.
Testin has long maintained that the bill is not a form of forced patriotism. He compares it to the state requirements that call for the US flag to be displayed on the grounds of all public and private schools.
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Should the bill become law, it would apply to any athletic venue that’s paid for either entirely or in part by taxpayer dollars.
Governor Evers has not said if he would sign the legislation into law.
