Can you be charged with a federal crime if you burn the american flag?

Question

This topic came up in a class discussion. I would like to know the answer but I don't want to read anything all extra long. I also would perfer if it was put into simple terms. I am readind this to my classmates who are only in the 8th grade so they won't understand anything all complicated. Thank you.

Answer 1

I'm not sure what stupid laws the neocons have instituted lately, but rest assured that flag burning is protected under the First Amendment.

If we don't allow people to express themselves just because we disagree with how they do it, we're not really a democracy, are we?

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

No, you can't, because it's considered to be part of your right to freedom of speech (First Amendment).

Although some people argue that the flag is what our soldiers have died for, the overwhelming opinion (and what the Supreme Court says) is that soldiers actually died for the freedoms we have, including the right to burn that flag in protest. It's a very interesting debate -- if the flag is what we're protecting, or the freedoms that are symbolized by that flag.

There are a lot of people ranting on this answer. Trust me, it's not illegal. Local school boards might get mad, and people may even propose laws making it illegal, but those laws always fail because they're unconstitutional.

Answer 4

Yes it is a fedral offense because a teacher in Louisville, KY was charged with fedral charges for burning a little flag on a wooden stick. He was trying to create a class discussion and see how the children felt. The kids went home, told mom and dad, mom and dad got pissed at school board.

Answer 5

There is no federal law against burning the American flag. However, there are those who want to amend the Constitution to outlaw it. The courts have said that flag burning is equal to free speech and therefore protected. I would like to think that stuffing the burning flag down the pants of the one who lit it would be protected free speech also.

Answer 6

Hillary Clinton and other members of the " Democratic Leadership Council", ((the group that urges Democrats to take less progressive political positions.)) She has proposed legislation to criminalize flag-burning, and co-authored a bill to protect America's youth from the alleged dangers of violent video games ,

Every state in America except two has laws dealing with the misuse, abuse, and desecration of flags: the American flag, the state flag, and sometimes the Confederate flag. The laws prohibit defiling, defacing, casting contempt upon, and sometimes even satirizing these flags. Most laws specify actions, but some criminalize words. A few include other venerated objects in their protections.

Wyoming is the only state that doesn't say anything about defacing, desecrating, or disparaging the flag. Alaska only bans the registration of trademarks which disparage national symbols. All other states proscribe at least some uses for national and state flags. Below are some key attributes of these laws.

Publicity: It's rarely a crime to deface, burn, or desecrate an American flag if you do so in the privacy of your home.

By Word or Act: The most extreme examples of suppressing speech are those state laws which explicitly ban casting contempt on the flag "by word" as well as "by act." States which do this are: Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada (which additionally makes it a crime to speak "evilly" about the flag), New Mexico (which prohibits insulting the flag), New York, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Vermont. The District of Columbia used to have this, but it was removed.

Any Part: Most states define "flag" very broadly to include any part of a flag, any representation of a flag, and anything which anyone might immediately perceive as a flag. So burning a piece of a flag or a picture of a flag are crimes.

Venerated Objects: Alabama and Kentucky are the two states which connect the protection of flags with more general protections for religious objects because they classify the desecration of flags alongside desecration of churches and "venerated objects."

Advertisements: Most states ban not just defacing flags, but also using flags for advertising. This makes it illegal to sell things with flags on them (for the purpose of drawing attention) or to put ads on flags themselves. Maine, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania only ban this and not other forms of desecration (though Pennsylvania includes things like using flags for drapery).

Personal Property: Most state laws make no distinction between personal property and the property of others; most that do say that it doesn't matter if the flag is personal property — desecration is still a crime. Only Kansas and New Hampshire ban desecration just in the context of flags that a person doesn't own.

Felony vs. Misdemeanor: Illinois is the only state to make flag desecration a felony; every other state makes it a misdemeanor. Wisconsin used to make it a felony, but the entire provision on flag desecration was struck down in 1998. Oklahoma makes it a felony to display any "red flag" or other emblem to incite disloyalty to the government.

Inciting of Violence: Maryland and Arizona are the only two states which limit the crime of flag desecration to those cases where the act might incite violence in others. This appears to acknowledge that people have a free speech right to burn or deface the flag, but then makes the person a criminal if others get so upset that they act violently in response.

Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina all protect Confederate flags on an equal basis with American and state flags. Thus burning a Confederate flag is the same crime as burning an American flag. Florida used to have similar provisions, but not anymore.

Answer 7

Yes you can it's just not enforced 18 U.S. Code § 700 - Desecration of the flag of the United States; penalties. Look it up just never enforced should be tho.

Answer 8

Yes, it is a Federal Offense to burn the American Flag.

Answer 9

There is no federal law against flag burning, but it is in real poor taste.

Answer 10

yes it is against the law to burn the flag unless it is your job(thats how they get rid of a flag when it is old) we studied this i a law class i took