They aren't about equality, they demand subservience.
You’ll never see 16 years sentencing when atheists and “satanists” desecrate Christian churches and steal Baby Jesus from nativity displays.
Seems grossly excessive for property destruction under $100. Hate crime? Fine, hate crime of property destruction under $100, should be a fine only.
This is America???? Burning a flag=16 years in jail? Wow. I mean I could see that in the old Soviet Union or North Korea...where anything you did against the protected Government Class was a hate crime..but America? Wow we are done.
Sixteen years for a minor property offense?
I thought the fags were so tolerant. guess not.
>>because of “what it represents as far as sexual orientation.”
What orientation is that?
LGBTotalitarians have added the + sign to their banner so that ANYONE who isn’t a monogamous “cisgender” male-female binary couple is IN.
In otherwords it excludes ONLY monogamous heterosexuals. It is a hate group.
The asexual, the neuters, the crossdressers who still prefer sex partners of the opposite sex, the polygamists, the swingers, etc all have NOTHING in common with homosexuals (who have sexual orientation attraction towards members of the same sex).
This judge is dim bulb.
If it were a maga hat or maga flag (is there such a thing?) or as others have said here, if it were a christian symbol, or if it were a boyscouts banner (I could keep going) then there would be a fine at most, and probably no prosecution at all, and the media would laud the person who did it as a first amendment hero.
That is absolutely insane!!!
The backlash is building. It is a slow pot to boil.
This guy has two previous felony convictions. Which means Iowa might have a three-strikes rule. There is ALWAYS more to these stories. This is how the media manipulates people. They just leave out details they don't like.
Mr. Martinez isn't a criminal, clearly he is the victim here. For years Mr. Martinez has been subjected to repeated trauma from bombardment by LGBTQXYZABC (*) activists with images and symbols that Mr. Martinez finds profane, disturbing, and deeply offensive. Unlike Civil War memorials and Christian displays, there were no groups advocating for the removal of these images and symbols, so Mr. Martinez had no relief from the serious trauma caused by repeated exposure. Mr. Martinez admits to petty theft and reckless use of fire and is more than willing to reimburse the Church for the cost of a flag.
Of course liberal "logic" and excuses are only to be used to justify their ends. I'm sure they would never accept these arguments as valid when turned around and used against them.
(*) Yes I know this isn't the abbreviation du jour for whatever perverse groups are in vogue today. But hey, if liberals can spout off about "gun control" when they are clearly, even intentionally ignorant on firearm topics I figure I can similarly make statements as fact about these groups even though I am ignorant of their composition and affectations.
Exactly.
He ought to be able to appeal this one.
But then again, he’s against the Lavender Mafia.
Was the flag the only reason for imprisonment? Where is free speech? Where was his lawyer? Six years is horriboe for this!
Should have burned an American flag.
he needs a better lawyer...
Amber Guyger only got 10 years for murdering an innocent man.
Justice is dead.
There has to be more to this story than just burning a gay flag to get sentenced to 16 years. Was a gay guy wearing the flag when he burned it?
If he burned his own rainbow flag, akin to bringing your own American flag to a protest and burning it, would he have been charged?
And the homos are so hateful, they celebrate the decision. So who is actually doing the hate crime.