Rules for Non-Military

[germb747]

Burning a flag has nothing to do with Right to free speech...

The first amendment (posted above) says that people have the right to religion, speech, PEACEFULLY assemble and petition their government.

I'm not just making this crap up to go along with flag burners. In point of fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is protected "speech".

See Texas v. Johnson:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/texasvjohnson.html

...and

United States v. Eichman:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0496_0310_ZS.html

Your opinion is your opinion. The law is the law.

 

[derg]

Straight from Doug himself...i dont think butt is a censored word...and if anybody gets offended by the word butt....they need their butt kicked....

Oh come on ladies, "butt" isn't a bad word nor is it part of the censored list.

Let's not be coy, we all know what's on it and why as well.

 

[jeebus]

Your opinion is your opinion. The law is the law.

And law is always correct right?

 

[granlistillo]

BTW, the Coast Guard isn't the military. They're in the Department of Homeland Security...and before that they were in the Department of Transportation.

Although what they do is cool and important, it's not part of the military.

The Coast Guard not part of the military?


By USC Title 10, The USCG is one of 5 military services.

http://www.uscg.mil/top/about/

 

[Hacker15e]

Fair enough.

 

[germb747]

And law is always correct right?

Well, it beats a society of lawlessness, IMO.

 

[fish314]

The Coast Guard not part of the military?


By USC Title 10, The USCG is one of 5 military services.

http://www.uscg.mil/top/about/

I thought that the USCG was "subsumed" or some similar word... basically it was brought under the Department of Defense under certain circumstances (times of war, etc.). So it's always a part of the "military" but it's only part of the DoD by exception.

Incidentally, did anyone else know that there are actually 7 "uniformed services"? Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the U.S. Public Health System Commissioned Corps.

 

[Lefty]

I had a good conversation with my CHU mate earlier about this thread, and decided that in terms of debating it really left a lot of open variables.

It is legal to burn a flag, for example retiring a flag from service.

Even with the court cases above there was quite a bit of illegal activity, stealing a flag from a flag pole and burning it in the street is very illegal.

I guess that if you purchased a flag, took it home to your property, and then burned the flag privately then it would be legal (not bringing morals or ethics into it). But if you did this then your just an idiot anyway...private protesting...really?

 

[fish314]

I had a good conversation with my CHU mate earlier about this thread, and decided that in terms of debating it really left a lot of open variables.

It is legal to burn a flag, for example retiring a flag from service.

Even with the court cases above there was quite a bit of illegal activity, stealing a flag from a flag pole and burning it in the street is very illegal.

I guess that if you purchased a flag, took it home to your property, and then burned the flag privately then it would be legal (not bringing morals or ethics into it). But if you did this then your just an idiot anyway...private protesting...really?

You could also purchase the flag and burn it in public (provided you did so in a way that avoided the obvious hazards due to a simple fire in public... but in any place where it would be legal to burn SOMETHING, it would be legal to burn a flag).

 

[ppragman]

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:I'm with you on that one :yeahthat:

Not that I'd leave, but I'd have to say that Denmark is statistically the greatest place in the world to live. Everybody smokes, yet somehow low lung cancer rates, everybody drinks, yet somehow low alcoholism rates, everybody is happy (per a study about Gross Domestic Happiness) and taxes (for a western european nation) are pretty low. If I had to live anywhere else, I'd say Denmark.

 

[germb747]

I had a good conversation with my CHU mate earlier about this thread, and decided that in terms of debating it really left a lot of open variables.

It is legal to burn a flag, for example retiring a flag from service.

Even with the court cases above there was quite a bit of illegal activity, stealing a flag from a flag pole and burning it in the street is very illegal.

I guess that if you purchased a flag, took it home to your property, and then burned the flag privately then it would be legal (not bringing morals or ethics into it). But if you did this then your just an idiot anyway...private protesting...really?

Agreed. You can't just pull a flag down from a flagpole that isn't yours and burn it; that's arson just as setting someone's car on fire is. But just as fish said, 'in any place where it would be legal to burn SOMETHING, it would be legal to burn a flag'.

 

[flygvapnet]

The last time I checked, burning the flag was the only proper way of taking care of a tattered, worn flag.

 

[Lefty]

In regards to legality I think most were referring to burning in protest...

 

[CGFlyer]

Personally, I'm not really against flag burning or protesting. In fact, I'm sort of for it in a strange way.

IMHO, that's what makes America great. People get their butt kicked (or worse) for doing that kind of stuff in China or North Korea...but that's the type of thing that is amazingly allowed in our free republic. I think that protesting against your government is actually highly patriotic, as it's the one thing that is distinctly American (in that it is unregulated and protected). Even in our closest ally Great Britain you have to get a permit from the government to protest!

BTW, the Coast Guard isn't the military. They're in the Department of Homeland Security...and before that they were in the Department of Transportation.

Although what they do is cool and important, it's not part of the military.

By the way the Coast Guard is military and falls under the UCMJ despite being part of DHS.

 

[Hacker15e]

By the way the Coast Guard is military and falls under the UCMJ despite being part of DHS.

Valid. I was all ready corrected on this, but thanks.

What do you fly for the CG?

 

[Bus Driver]

Doesn't anyone have a link to the video of the guy setting himself on fire trying to burn the flag?

 

[CGFlyer]

Valid. I was all ready corrected on this, but thanks.

What do you fly for the CG?

Sorry about that, I scanned through the threads too quick.

I fly the C-130 out of Clearwater St. Pete. The CG is definitely pretty unique we do alot of "non military missions" but still have all the military fringe benefits i.e retire after 20 and the use of DOD facilities etc. Overall a pretty good deal lots of flying at least on the C-130 side of the house.

 

[JT ATC]

:jumping in late:

While flag burning may be a form of "Freedom of Speech" I think it probably one of, if not the most, disrespectful forms of "speech" or "protest" ever. It's not just a symbol to me. The fact that someone in the military, better yet, an officer, is OK with this really bothers me. There are many other ways of protesting.

That's my country's representation. If it's a worn out, old flag...well ya...get rid of it (I've gone to several businesses with a brand new flag to replace their old, torn up ones they had flying).