Is flag burning a hate crime or protected speech?

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

The Confederate Battle flag gives me anxiety but as long as it legal I have no problem with people flying it for whatever reason.

The Union GOV IMHO should have ban'd all rebel flags after winning the war.

Like German ban'd all nazi stuff after WWII.

WTF is "ban'd"? Ebonics?

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

• If you are an American who goes to Mexico and burns the Mexican flag, it is a hate crime punishable under law.

• If you are a Mexican coming here to burn the American flag, then it becomes protected speech.

You can hang the flag wrong, you can desecrate it by letting it touch the ground, but you are protected in stomping it with your muddy feet in contempt before burning it?

I think we ought to rethink that.

Isn't freedom great?

 

[Darkwind]

Burn your flag, all good.

Burn others' flag, a kick in the nuts, then some time in county lockup.

But lets be truthful here.

People are not being jailed for burning flags. They are being jailed for other reasons.

 

[Mack The Finger]

WTF is "ban'd"? Ebonics?

I hope this helps:

Contractions are shortened forms of words or groups of words, typically created by omitting letters and using an apostrophe to indicate the omission. They are common in everyday speech and informal writing, but generally avoided in formal writing like academic papers.

 

[GLASNOST]

Is flag burning a hate crime or protected speech?​

Much a-do about nuthin'. If you stole someone's flag and burned it you would be guilty of theft. If you acquire a flag by legal means you have every right to do with it what you wish. Would this guy be allowed to burn the flag when he is finished with it? I say "yes".

 

[GLASNOST]

Well, Mexico is a corrupt shithole full of criminals.

How many shopping mall and school shoot-em-ups do they have every year?

 

[GLASNOST]

WTF is a pride flag, is that a new country??

I think maybe it is. Have you been to Sweden? It would take you at least a week to find a Swedish flag up any pole. But queer flags - why shoot - they are in front of every f-ing sport stadium and school and many churches.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

I hope this helps:

Contractions are shortened forms of words or groups of words, typically created by omitting letters and using an apostrophe to indicate the omission. They are common in everyday speech and informal writing, but generally avoided in formal writing like academic papers.

Try Googling it and see what you get! You are either uneducated or trying to be cute.

I had a friend who once joked that Anfernee Hardaway's mother called him "Tony" for a nickname!

 

[Mack The Finger]

Try Googling it and see what you get! You are either uneducated or trying to be cute.

Try saying it...as written.

Thank you for your service Admiral !

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Trump's renewed calls to jail American flag burners clashes with court precedent

President Trump proposes one-year jail sentences for burning American flags and claims he's working with Congress on legislation, though flag burning remains constitutionally protected

www.foxnews.com

By Ashley Oliver Fox

President Donald Trump revived calls this week for people who burn American flags to go to jail after demonstrators in California were seen torching them and waving Mexican flags in protest of the administration carrying out immigration enforcement operations in the state.

"I happen to think if you burn an American flag, because they were burning a lot of flags in Los Angeles, I think you go to jail for one year, just automatic," Trump told the New York Post.

Flag burning in the United States is neither unlawful nor unconstitutional. Offenders can only be punished under the law for flag burning if they are committing another crime at the same time, such as violating fire safety laws or burning flags that they stole.

18 U.S.C. 245: Federal Protections Against Hate Crimes

Learn how 18 U.S.C. 245 defines federal protections against hate crimes, outlining enforcement, penalties, and the legal framework for prosecution.

legalclarity.org

Protected Classes​

The law specifically protects individuals from violence or intimidation based on race, color, religion, or national origin when such acts interfere with federally protected activities. These classifications reflect a longstanding commitment to combating discrimination in critical aspects of public life. Unlike some other federal hate crime statutes, this law does not cover bias-motivated crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity unless they intersect with other federal protections.

The inclusion of race and national origin builds upon prior civil rights legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment. Courts have interpreted these provisions broadly, recognizing that racial animus often manifests in violent attempts to suppress participation in public life. For example, in United States v. Roof, federal prosecutors used hate crime laws to prosecute Dylann Roof for the racially motivated mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Religious protections complement other federal statutes, such as the Church Arson Prevention Act, which criminalizes attacks on places of worship. Courts have upheld these protections, emphasizing that individuals must be free to practice their faith without fear of violence. Federal prosecutors have used this statute in cases involving attacks on synagogues, mosques, and churches, reinforcing the government’s role in addressing religiously motivated violence.

Comment:
Flag burning if protected under the 1st amendment.
However flag burning could be considered a hate crime against "national origin"
National origin is a protected class.

The national origin of who exactly? Flag burning is protected constitutional activity under the first amendment. It's considered freedom of expression.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

4 could be charged with hate crimes for destroying LGBTQ+ pride flags, Atlanta police say

Atlanta police say three men and a juvenile could face hate crime charges for pulling down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cutting them up.

apnews.com

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police said Tuesday that three men and a juvenile could face hate crimes charges after they pulled down LGBTQ+ pride flags and cut them up at an intersection known as the center of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

Police say they got calls at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday morning that six males were causing a disturbance near the corner of Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street, an intersection in the city’s Midtown neighborhood that is painted with rainbow crosswalks to honor its importance in Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community.

The men coordinated their plan and drove to Atlanta from their locations northwest of the city, police said. Officers are still looking for two of the six people who they believe took part.

Investigators initially told news outlets that the men had pulled down flags outside Blake’s on the Park, a bar near the intersection, cutting them up with a knife and taking videos of what they were doing. The males fled from police on motorized scooters, investigators said, with officers catching and arresting four of them.

Comment:
Burning the pride flag is a hate crime.
So why not the American flag?

The burning of the pride flag is intended to threaten and intimidate a group of people who are members of the protected classes as identified by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments.

The individuals burning the American flag are protected under the first amendment-- freedom of speech/freedom of expression/government protest.

On the other hand, if a person is burning an American flag while raising/waving the flag of another nation, one could question their allegiance as it is defined in the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" which is a requirement for allowing one to claim birthright citizenship for their offspring.

I hope I didn't things too much.

 

[Seth]

President Donald Trump revived calls this week for people who burn American flags to go to jail after demonstrators in California were seen torching them and waving Mexican flags in protest of the administration carrying out immigration enforcement operations in the state.

I’ve always figured burning things—flags, bras, love letters from your ex—isn’t really “speech” so much as it is arson. You want it to be protected expression? Cool. Get a burn permit, find a fire-safe container, and maybe have a hose handy.

Once you’ve got the legal ducks in a row, knock yourself out. Burn a flag, a Barbie, or a bad book club pick—just don’t light the neighborhood on fire and then call it the First Amendment.

Free speech is sacred. Fire safety is mandatory.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

• If you are an American who goes to Mexico and burns the Mexican flag, it is a hate crime punishable under law.

• If you are a Mexican coming here to burn the American flag, then it becomes protected speech.

You can hang the flag wrong, you can desecrate it by letting it touch the ground, but you are protected in stomping it with your muddy feet in contempt before burning it?

I think we ought to rethink that.

It's a hate crime in Mexico?

 

[GLASNOST]

... Flag burning is protected constitutional activity under the first amendment. It's considered freedom of expression.

I don't know if that's true but I'm guessing that it is. And if it isn't, it should be. I suppose if the flag is made of some sort of toxic material whereby burning it would release dangerous gasses into the neighbourhood then maybe the law would have something to say about it. Otherwise ..... what's the problem?

 

[GLASNOST]

The burning of the pride flag is intended to threaten and intimidate a group of people who are members of the protected classes as identified by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments.

What about giving someone the finger? Are there any protected classes who would be threatened or just snow flakes who feel threatened?

 

[GLASNOST]

• If you are an American who goes to Mexico and burns the Mexican flag, it is a hate crime punishable under law.

Does that apply only to Americans?

It's a hate crime in Mexico?

I don't think I believe that.

 

[petro]

Typically the person exercising their freedom of speech, by being as offensive as possible to others views, actually does far more harm to their cause and creates even further divisiveness.
Being a pain in the ass may be a legal form of protest, but delusional that it will change hearts and minds.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

What about giving someone the finger? Are there any protected classes who would be threatened or just snow flakes who feel threatened?

The constitutional protections outlined in the Bill of Rights applies to all of "the people of the United States", for the most part, it doesn't have anything to do with protected classes.

 

[JWBooth]

The Confederate Battle flag gives me anxiety but as long as it legal I have no problem with people flying it for whatever reason.

The Union GOV IMHO should have ban'd all rebel flags after winning the war.

Like German ban'd all nazi stuff after WWII.

As the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia flying in the breeze is as lovely a sight as there ever was, I cannot agree. That it has been carried into battle by US troops in every major conflict of the 20th and 21st centuries is a plus. Granted, there are ignorant low life turds that cannot separate National Socialism and the CBF, misusing and abusing its symbology, and it is not the blame of those that fought and died defending their homes, their communities, and their states from invasion and destruction.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Typically the person exercising their freedom of speech, by being as offensive as possible to others views, actually does far more harm to their cause and creates even further divisiveness.
Being a pain in the ass may be a legal form of protest, but delusional that it will change hearts and minds.

Well SCOTUS has deemed that KKK marches and cross burnings to be constitutionally protected under the 1st Amendment. We all know that the cross burnings specifically are meant to incite fear and intimidation among members of the Black community but hey, SCOTUS says that's a-okay.