Should burning the United States flag be illegal? I don't think it should be illegal, since it's freedom of speech, but a lot of people think there should be a law against it (a YouGov poll of more than 6,000 US adults finds that 49 percent think it should be illegal to burn or intentionally destroy the flag). What are your thoughts?

no

Yep. Along with a lot of other things

We went through this already. It is protected speech and has been for many decades.

I didn't see the previous thread about it, but I wanted to hear other people's opinions on whether it should be legal or illegal. I'm familiar with Texas v. Johnson.

Burning the flag is legal. We need laws passed that allow for a Hank Hill style ass kicking on those burning said flag.

No

If someone wants to go in their backyard and burn a flag of any kind, fine. I'm not going to get involved.

If someone wants to put on a demonstration or protest on public property of a flag burning, and a city wants to have an ordinance against that, I support the people's right to do that. Free speech is just that: speech. It doesn't NECESSARILY include actions that otherwise COULD be considered criminal. You can't light other fires on city property and not potentially be held to some criminal liability. Flag burning is far more like arson than candle vigils, so please, don't go there. That's idiocy.

On the other hand, if a city wants to let this go, then fine. However, if I show up with a fire extinguisher or a pressure washer, that's my right, too. (And I will, by the way).

Johnson was wrongly decided. But to the extent it was correct, it should include all flags.

agAngeldad said:

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Yep. Along with a lot of other things

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People that hate free speech

Burning a flag* you own? No

Burning someone else's flag*? Yes

Outdoor burning of a flag* you own during a burn ban? No


* Now, we need to make sure that people understand that living in a society that allows you the freedom to burn the American flag also means you are allowed to burn the flag of ANY GROUP you want. US/BLM/LBGT/Confederate/Mohammed/etc.

So should burning a gay pride flag be considered a hate crime?

lethalninja said:

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I didn't see the previous thread about it, but I wanted to hear other people's opinions on whether it should be legal or illegal. I'm familiar with Texas v. Johnson.

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Sorry, I wasn't responding in reference to any other thread. I just had a sort of flashback to not long after the decision came down. Long story short, I was a recently widowed 30 year old lawyer who had just moved to NW Austin and all of my neighbors were retired IBM employees. Invited me as the new "kid" on the block to a backyard BBQ and the subject came up. They knew I was a lawyer and started peppering me with questions about it.

Explaining the First Amendment to folks who went to work at IBM in the late 50s to early 60s was a bit taxing with everything else I had going on at the time. I just wanted to go to the BBQ, have some good food a few drinks and be neighborly. (I brought two blueberry banana cream pies and two dozen Deviled Eggs as my contribution, BTW.)

Someone burning their own gay pride flag isn't a hate crime, but if someone burns another person's gay pride flag because they don't like gay people, that would be considered a hate crime, whether or not it's fair.

Shoefly! said:

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So should burning a gay pride flag be considered a hate crime?

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Excellent question. SCOTUS care to answer that one?

I don't think anyone's gotten charged with a hate crime for burning their own gay pride flag.

lethalninja said:

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I don't think anyone's gotten charged with a hate crime for burning their own gay pride flag.

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Still speech. Burn someone's flag is just theft and destruction. And in California, a carbon violation. (sarc maybe.)

No but you should get your face kicked in if so.

Quote:

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If someone wants to put on a demonstration or protest on public property of a flag burning, and a city wants to have an ordinance against that, I support the people's right to do that. Free speech is just that: speech.

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Isn't that a prior restraint?

No, obviously.

You can burn the flag, as long as you burn your passport and renounce your citizenship in the process. You most certainly should lose the right to vote.

But, just make it illegal to burn any 3x5 piece of fabric with printed colors in the municipality. There should be no issue with that. You can speak freely without setting fire to things.

Oh who am I kidding, we know liberals only think they can be heard if looting, pillaging, raping and burning.

Depends

If you burn the alphabet soup's flag, will you be prosecuted? If yes, then of course it should be illegal because we need balance, if not, well you have your answer.

No. A "poster child" for freedom of speech.

No. Dumb question.

lethalninja said:

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Someone burning their own gay pride flag isn't a hate crime, but if someone burns another person's gay pride flag because they don't like gay people, that would be considered a hate crime, whether or not it's fair.

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There should be no such thing as a hate crime. There is crime and not crime.

For those of you who said it should be illegal, what should the penalty be? A fine, probation, jail time, prison time or something else?

no
you should be absolved for ending someone that does, tho.

So someone should be allowed to kill someone else they see burning a United States flag?

This seems like a great GOP legislative priority

No…but kicking the fellow's ass burning the flag should be okay, too.

Sad. Wonder how those thousands of guys buried under those white tombstones in all our national cemeteries would answer?

Of course it's legal to burn your own flag. End of discussion.

Free speech is hard for some of you.

If Westboro Baptist Church can picket funerals with "God Hates ***s" posters, then you can definitely burn a gay pride flag.

Flag burning should be legal, regardless of what is on the flag.

Gunny456 said:

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Sad. Wonder how those thousands of guys buried under those white tombstones in all our national cemeteries would answer?

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Well, they died so we can have the right so I would probably think way more mixed than you think (even though they personally would not engage in such activity, if alive)