I agree with the decision as did conservatives like Scalia, who Trump has expressed great admiration for. Brennan was joined by Marshall, Blackmun, Scalia, and Kennedy (Kennedy wrote a concurrence).
It is considered one of the core cases defining free speech in the United States. 397 (1989), the Supreme Court voted 5-4 that flag burning was protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. We have previously discussed flag burning cases. The case run afoul of the First Amendment and controlling precedent in my view. The charge was brought under Section 76-3-203.3, which states a person who commits any primary offense - such as misdemeanor property destruction - with the intent to “intimidate or terrorize another person or with reason to believe that his action would intimidate or terrorize that person” is subject to a class B misdemeanor primary offense becoming a class A misdemeanor.Īs a result, the woman could received up to a year in prison or a fine of up to $2,500. That would be a pretty weak case of property destruction but the police then added a “hate crime enhanced allegation” due to “the demeanor displayed by in attempts to intimidate law enforcement while destroying a ‘Pro Law Enforcement’ sign.” While the woman claimed it was her mother’s., the officer said that the sign was clearly one of those made by the local Sheriff’s Office and thus “she had acquired it in our community.” He then arrested the woman and cited her “ inconsistent stories” about where she found the sign. The officer confronted the woman and demanded to know where she got the sign. The police affidavit states that a Garfield County police officer was conducting a traffic stop for speeding at a gas station when the officer saw a woman “stomping on a ‘Back the Blue’ sign next to where the traffic stop was conducted, crumble it up in a destructive manner and throw it into a trash can all while smirking in an intimidating manner towards me.” However, it is also a classic form of protest and political speech. Many of us find this conduct to be offensive and obnoxious. This case is an example of the serious free speech concerns raised by such prosecutions. There is a national movement to add attacks on police as a category of hate crime in various states. The proliferation of of so-called “Hate crime laws” in America, which when applied, can unevenly determine which groups receive special status or protection, has resulted in affording certain groups the freedom from consequences while still others find themselves at the business end of the billy club.ĭebate over tying sexual identity and sexual preferences to civil rights protections is increasingly dividing Americans nationwide.There is a troubling case in Panguitch, Utah where a woman has reportedly been charged with a hate crime for allegedly “stomping on a ‘Back the Blue’ sign” at a gas station.
Since that time there have been numerous lawsuits over the act of desecrating the American flag, but no criminal charges or jail time has been given for the burning the flag.
In contrast to the LGBTQ flag and protections, a debate over burning the American flag has raged in America since 1968 when protestors burned American flags to protest the military conflict in Vietnam.