Friday, July 27, 2007

Guess who this is?

The only reason I am posting this picture is because a local couple were cited for flag desecration. They had hung the flag upside down and then pinned a couple of sheets to the flag. This happened at their home.

Hanging a flag upside down is a sign of distress. That is not desecration. I am not sure that pinning something to the flag is desecration. However, WRITING ON A FLAG IS DESECRATION. And this is the president doing this, back in 2003.

Here is the North Carolina law about the flag:

Article 52.
Miscellaneous Police Regulations.
§ 14‑381. Desecration of State and United States flag.
It shall be unlawful for any person willfully and knowingly to cast contempt upon any flag of the United States or upon any flag of North Carolina by public acts of physical contact including, but not limited to, mutilation, defiling, defacing or trampling. Any person violating this section shall be deemed guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
The flag of the United States, as used in this section, shall be the same as defined in 4 U.S.C.A. 1 and 4 U.S.C.A. 2. The flag of North Carolina, as used in this section, shall be the same as defined in G.S. 144‑1.(1917, c. 271; C.S., s. 4500; 1971, c. 295; 1993, c. 539, s. 253; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)

Unfortunately, this incident went a lot further than a flag issue. The deputy delivering the citation wanted to see the couple's identification. They refused. The deputy went into their house against the wishes of this couple, and without a search warrant. They got into some sort of fight, and the wife called 911. This is the scary part - the deputy felt he had the right to go into their homes without permission, and felt this issue was serious enough to use force (the couple was not using any force or threatening to do so). The deputy could have just looked up the couples information and then mail them the warrant.

Fascism comes to Asheville. I will be printing up the picture above along with an explanation. I will post it on my car. I will give a copy to the Buncombe County Sheriff (where the deputy worked) and the Asheville Chief of Police (those folks had nothing to do with this incident).

And I will be displaying the US flag at my HONK TO IMPEACH events. Upside down.

Here is a link to the story in the local paper.


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