by KHOU.com staff

& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

kens5.com

&

Posted on July 2, 2012 at 7:24 AM

&

& Updated& today at 8:37 AM&

&

MINERAL WELLS, Texas -- Veterans in a town in north Texas are outraged over a new ordinance in Mineral Wells regulating flags at gravesites.

It bans flags from being places at the graves of veterans, except for the two weeks around Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

The ordinance also includes items like teddy bears and statues, saying they must be removed 21 days after the funeral. No flowers are allowed at graves unless they're in a vase.

It has a lot of people upset, including a man whose father is buried at a city cemetery there.

"When a veteran tells you they love the flag more than life itself, they mean it. I want the cemetery to look nice. I had statues as you can see and I have removed them. The only thing I won't remove is that flag because he earned it," said Robert Veach.

It's not clear why the city council passed the ordinance except that the items make mowing more difficult.

After all the criticism, the council says it will reconsider the ban.