Posted on 10/05/2001 9:09:07 AM PDT by NorCoGOP
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- While many across the United States have chosen to show their patriotic support of their country by waving American flags, a few angered citizens have chosen to express their views in a different and more explosive fashion -- burning "Old Glory" in a form of protest.
David Stout, a 49-year-old resident of Noblesville, Ind., has been accused of burning the American flag has been detained by Indiana authorities. Stout is being charged with flag desecration and resisting law enforcement and is being held at the Hamilton County Jail on a $9,000 bond. ("Noblesville Man Arrested, Accused of Burning Flag," TheINDYchannel.com, 10/3)
Stout set an American flag ablaze in an alley behind his house and was harassed by a neighbor who tried to stop him. Stout told his neighbor that it was his flag and he had a right to burn it prompting the neighbor to alert law enforcement authorities.
Police arrived on the scene and took Stout into custody when they found him lying beside a burning flag in his alley. Stout reportedly threw a lighted firecracker at police and struggled with authorities when they tried to detain him.
At his hearing, Stout was ardently protective of his right to burg the American flag. "It's my American flag," he said. "It belongs to me," ("Noblesville Man Arrested, Accused of Burning Flag, TheINDYchannel.com, 10/3)
While flag burning has been twice upheld by the Supreme Court as a form of free speech and thus a right protected under the first amendment, 48 states have laws that prohibit the practice, Indiana included.
In the case of Texas vs. Johnson in 1984, the Supreme Court said that flag burning is a legitimate form of protest. Many states seem to disagree and now may be the time to enforce the ruling of this country's highest court.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment, which gives citizens the right to exercise free speech, includes burning the banner of the United States in a form of orderly demonstration. In this time of suffering and loss, flag burning can make a very powerful statement, so powerful it may make some forget that it's a guaranteed right. Witnessing the symbol of the country be consumed in flames can elicit many emotions and is one of the ultimate forms of expression.
Even in times of uncertainty and turmoil, authorities should not be allowed to ignore the rights of individuals in this country. We should all remember exactly why we live in a democracy and why it deserves to be protected. We should be doing all we can as citizens of a free country to insure that our rights are not denied because of times of crisis.
All Americans should enjoy the freedoms guaranteed them by the constitution, and understand that those freedoms allow for unpopular views to be expressed.
While Stout was wrong in resisting his arrest and struggling with police, he was not unlawful in burning his flag and Indiana authorities should have respected his rights.
With that in mind, Just don't nodody burn a flag around Chookter. He will lose his mind and you will get hurt and he will have to make bail.
After all based on their arguement I'd only be exercising my first amendment rights since this would be, what I feel is, my best form of protest.
It is astounding that there are those who think burning a symbol is punishable by arrest and incarceration...
What the hell kind of country is this???
When dissent is eliminated... Guess what is next....
There are certainly more constructive ways of protesting and/or changing that which one is angry about.
Flag burning is a cowardly attack against those who support American traditions. Rather than deal with those individuals directly, America haters prefer to attack a sacred symbol which cannot defend itself, in such a way as to enrage others.
If flag burning is to be protected free speech then it should be performed in private. If done in public then those responsible should be jailed for inciting a riot and reckless endangerment.
However, I have no problem at all when a flag burner gets the #@%^ kicked out of him.
I think you've hit on something that this guy can be charged with. Most states have laws against the use of "fighting words" to incite people to violence. The SC has never ruled that such language used in public is protected under the 1st. Its kinda like states which have personalized license plates; certain words and phrases are simply not allowed. To me, flag burning constitutes fighting words.
I seem to remember this from my Boyscout days. For example if it touches the ground or is torn...I think the words of the code were something like... "when a flag has served its useful purpose, it should be destroyed, preferably by burning."
I'm not defending these creeps though just trying to clarify something from my past.
Flag-burning bans are for dictatorships, totalitarian regimes, and the like. In the U.S., freedom of speech lets people demonstrate their views, in part so that the rest of us can better know who the goofballs are.
MY U.S.A. doesn't need no steenkin' flag-burning ban to be the greatest nation on earth. We are bigger than our flag. If or when this nation ceases to be the greatest, I reserve the right to burn its flag.
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