Independence Teen Accused of Burning American flag

[seriousstan]

AP - A northeast Iowa teenager accused of burning an American flag is charged with second-degree arson and desecration of a flag under the state's flag desecration law.

Maryann Beck, 15, of Independence is accused of setting the flag on fire at the local VFW hall Tuesday night.

Police Chief Douglas Rasmussen says it was “a pure act of vandalism”. He says flag was on a flag pole outside the hall when it was set on fire.

Iowa law makes it illegal to publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy the American flag.


http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/4487731.html

[matcom]

1. I'll support him to the DEATH

if he buys and ignites his OWN flag.

NOT someone else's

[jimbot]

28. Him?

If I was a guy and named MaryAnn, I'd be burning stuff too!

Feeling a little picky this morning :)

--JT

[Burma Jones]

2. What the Hell is "defy" the American flag

When the flag starts giving you orders, it's time to goto Bellevue.......

[leQ]

6. defy is to challenge; it's one of iowa's bad laws that needs serious

reconsideration, as i'm sure will happen now that this case is in the courts and news.

[Burma Jones]

8. Bad Law for sure

how do you challenge a flag?

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. Turn your back to it?

Give it a Bronx cheer? :shrug:

"Disrespect" it; that'd be my guess.

[TygrBright]

16. Moon it, maybe. n/t

[Benhurst]

7. Maybe the idiots in the Iowa Legislature meant "defile."

:shrug:

[karlrschneider]

9. Well, "defile" is in the law just before "defy", so...I have no idea.

:eyes:

[Benhurst]

19. You're right, of course. I was moving too fast. So ...

God only knows what the idiots had in mind.

[Nolo_Contendre]

3. When burning the US flag, make sure you own it

Otherwise it is arson.

As far as desecrating the flag, that's bullshit. How does the VFW dipose of their old flags? Burial? Burning is the correct way to dispose of a flag. That being the case, the law is prosecuting not the act but the intent. The intent is protest, therefore it is an issue of free speech.

Iowa needs to check the US Constition and rescind that degenrate law.

[OneBlueSky]

27. yup . . . in this case, the offense is vandalism, and flag-burning is . . .

just an unfortunate by-product . . . if she's convicted, it will be for destroying someone else's property, not specifically for burning a flag . . . that makes it a non-issue for me . . .

[pooja]

4. my fav. is when they put the flag on the backside of a pair of those

toooo short shorts young ladies where (you know the one's that say sexy, etc). If sitting your ass on the flag isn't desecration, than what is. What a stupid law.

[Hardrada]

22. Long been my favorite also!

Great use of the flag!

[wuushew]

5. Sounds like a weak case, hence a waste of time and money

where is the proof of arson? He said, she said?

[Solo_in_MD]

10. While burning a flag you own is protected speech, reports indicate

that the flag burned was taken from the VFW flagpole. If true, that is not okay, that is theft/arson.

[Debi]

11. There are days when I wish I still lived in Montana

but then again, the Freemen and Ted Kazinski lived there...:eyes:

[kestrel91316]

13. Dummy. If you're going to burn a flag, you go BUY YOUR OWN

to burn...................

Adding vandalism of someone else's property to the incident is just stupid.

[MGD]

24. Fifteen year old rebels aren't often known for their good sense. nt

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. It's a sad state of affairs when someone is prosecuted for desecrating a piece of cloth

while others are free to desecrate the country, its citizens, and its wildlife ad nauseum.

[Lost-in-FL]

15. I don't understand, freeptards protect the flag...

but wipe their ass with the USA Constitution? :eyes:

[bluestateguy]

17. I need more information here

Was this his flag? If so, what he did was constitutionally protected free speech. But if he destroyed someone else's flag, then he has stolen someone else's property and committed vandalism, regardless of whether or not what he burned was a flag or a rubber duckie.

[maxsolomon]

18. 15 years old

yeah, we need a constitutional amendment :eyes:

[Journeyman]

20. "If you want a symbolic gesture, don't burn the flag. . .

wash it." -- Norman Thomas

[bronxiteforever]

21. If he water boarded someone he would be a hero, according to the VP Dick

Torture a person is ok but burn an inanimate object now thats a crime:banghead:

[MGD]

23. You can't "defile " it but you can wrap up a pile of bullshit with it. Which is worse?

Alternatively, you can use it to sell foreign cars and Chinese trinkets. Go figure.

[reprobate]

25. It's fascinating to me that the proper way to dispose of a flag is burn it.

But to burn a flag to protest our "government's" actions is illegal.

So what we are prosecuting is not the act but the intent behind the act.

That's insane.

But much of the right wing is insane.

[Irreverend IX]

26. Too independent for Independence. nt