The "God Bless America"

banner at Crumpton's Furniture in Fayetteville remained on display

Tuesday afternoon, as store owners Eddie and Ronnie Crumpton pondered

the corner they'd been painted into.

City officials say the 90-foot

banner must come down because the furniture store didn't get an appropriate

permit. As far as city code enforcers are concerned, the banner, no matter

what's written on it, is just another nonconforming sign.

Then there are Crumpton's

customers like the woman flipping through a catalog last week who overheard

the brothers talking about perhaps taking the banner down, bowing to the

city's demand.

"She said, 'You can't

take that banner down. My husband's still over there (in Iraq) and

he needs to know he's still supported,'" Ronnie Crumpton

said.

The Crumptons insist they will

eventually do "what's right." As soon as they figure out

just what that is.

It could mean they will take

the sign down at some point in the future.

Eddie Crumpton received a citation

from the city last week, charging him with displaying a temporary sign

without city approval. He has a court date of March 15, and he potentially

faces up to a $1,000 fine and perhaps some jail time for failing to remove

the offending banner.

"We just want them to

change the law," Eddie Crumpton said. He hopes the City Council will

approve a variance to allow the sign to stay up as-is.

City officials told the Crumptons

Monday they could incorporate "God bless America" into a new

permanent wall or ground sign.

"I don't want it

to look like advertising," Eddie Crumpton lamented.

"That's not what

it was put up there for," Ronnie Crumpton added.

The "God bless America"

banner went up at Crumpton's Furniture on Ga. Highway 85 North, the

city's main thoroughfare, after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,

2001, but not because it was good for business, Ronnie Crumpton said.

"We didn't put it

up to be politically correct. We put it up because it was what we felt,"

he added. "... The country was in a real sad state and we felt the

only way we could come out of it was with God."

The sentiment has been hanging

from the store's awning area ever since, save for five minutes when

the original sign, which had become worn, was replaced with a new one,

the Crumptons said.

A former city employee once

told Eddie Crumpton there was no way the city "would even touch"

the "God bless America" sign.

The sign has been up for roughly

28 months, and city officials were prompted to investigate after a complaint

from another business owner who was forced to take down a temporary banner,

Eddie Crumpton said.

The city has not issued any

more citations against the business for the sign violation, said City

Manager Joe Morton.

Morton and Mayor Ken Steele

met with Crumpton Monday, explaining several options that would allow

the company to have a "God bless America" sign and stay in compliance

with the city's sign ordinance.

"We told them we want

to help them out any way we can within the confines of the sign ordinance,"

Morton said, adding, "Nothing has been decided yet."

If Crumpton's were to

apply for a sign variance, the issue might not be heard by the City Council

until its Feb. 19 meeting, Morton indicated. No further action can be

taken until the Crumptons get back with the city, Morton added.

City officials contend they

cannot turn a blind eye to the sign because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling

that local governments cannot regulate the content of signs.

If this were about a sale sign

advertising anniversary or holiday specials, the Crumptons say they would

have no problem removing it. But this isn't just about business,

they say: It's about supporting the country and those who are fighting

for our freedoms abroad.

"There should be a way

for us to keep that sign," Ronnie Crumpton said.

If the shoe were on the other

foot, and the city was fighting for its right to display a "God bless

America" sign, "We would be fighting right there with them,"

Ronnie Crumpton added.

In the meantime, while they

appreciate citizens who have called City Hall to complain, the Crumptons

want the calls to stop.

"We don't want people

calling City Hall and disrupting the work of the city," Ronnie Crumpton

said. "That's detrimental to the city of Fayetteville."

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