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Lawsuit Filed Against 1928 Sacramento Ordinance That Requires People To Stand For National Anthem

SACRAMENTO (CBS13)  — A decades-old Sacramento ordinance is in question after a lawsuit was filed against the city.

The ordinance requires people to stand at attention during the national anthem and implies criminal punishment if the law is broken.

"The city basically said that it is required to stand at attention during the national anthem. This is a 1928 ordinance," Mayor Darrell Steinberg said.

It's one of several old laws that remain on the city books. Others include a ban on selling violent comic books to kids and requiring licenses for astrologers.

READ MORE: Sacramento Laws Still On The Books Bar Unlicensed Astrology, Spitting, Selling Comic Books To Kids

"The last thing that you would think is when you go to a basketball game and for whatever reason you can't stand. Next thing you know you're being hauled off to jail," Attorney Kevin Lipeles, who is representing his father, said.

Lipeles filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Sacramento to get the ordinance removed.

"I don't want them to just put a Band-Aid on the thing I want it to be gone and I want it to be gone for good," he said.

Mayor Steinberg says city council will discuss removing the ordinance. When asked if he's comfortable seeing people kneel or sit down for the national anthem, Steinberg said, "of course I am because that is the essence of being an American. You have the right to express your opinion."

The next time the Sacramento city council meets will be on July 20th. The mayor intends on making this conversation a part of the agenda.

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