Earlier this month, Bedford County (VA) Sheriff Mike Brown announced that he had personally paid for a billboard and bumper stickers responding the NFL controversy involving players taking a knee during the National Anthem.

Brown’s message was a rebuke to the players’ stand against racism and essentially a variation on “Blue Lives Matter”: “Law enforcement stands & places hand over heart for National Anthem! We kneel when we pray!”

He has every right to put up a billboard with that message. It’s a dick move and a slap in the face to the players protesting injustice… but Brown is allowed to be a dick.

It’s a little strange that he says, speaking for all law enforcement, that they kneel when they pray. As if everybody prays.

And it became downright illegal when Brown later said he was going to place those bumper stickers on “every county law enforcement vehicle.”

The ACLU of Virginia finally stepped in this week and told Brown they would consider legal action if he went through with it.

That’s all it took. Yesterday, Brown capitulated on Facebook:

… The ACLU said that putting this bumper sticker on the department cars was not appropriate because of the religious tone/nature of the sticker and legal efforts against the county would be possible…which I expected. In reference to their request, and after considering the issue, and wishing no undue strain or aggravation on the county, no stickers have, nor will be, put on our county vehicles. They are, however, available to all employees of the department to be placed, if they so choose, on their personal vehicles…

He should’ve known better to begin with, but at least he’s not trying to fight a battle that he’s going to lose. These bumper stickers have no business on government vehicles. And now, thanks to the ACLU, they won’t be there at all.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)

