Yeah, it might have been a little uncalled for, for the vetern to cut down the flag...but I am glad he did. There is only one flag that represents a country that should be flying in the USA.

Perhaps you should ask this question to veterans who served in combat situations. They would probably provide the best answers to this question.

 

What is the point of a country having a flag if you can hang whatever flag of whatever country that you want to?

 

I understand the reactions above.

 

TTC - I'm guessing the veterans in my family who have served during a war would say what most say "I fight to protect the freedoms at home." Don't those freedoms include expression? Don't laws usually come about in order to fix a problem or situation? All I'm asking is why have a law over a beautiful symbol of freedom? I think if you take a step back and think about the answer to the question you told me to ask, you'd realize that having a law goes against the answer you and I get from our soldiers.

 

CCH5432 - The US flag, unlike most other country's flags, is a beautiful symbol of freedom. Are you saying we should require legal non-citizens to fly the US flag? Are you saying citizens should be legally bound to fly the flag?

 

I love the flag and what it stands for. I love it so much I could never force anyone to fly it in any situation should they not want to. It would actually be a disgrace to the flag itself and to the men and women who have fought for it. That would be 100% opposite of why I love it and why the soldiers fought for me.

I, too, did not know that flying another country's flag above the US flag is illegal.

 

I know I'm in the minority on this one but I don't see the big deal. If the business owner wants to fly his country's flag higher, so be it. Let the market decide if he stays in business. My guess is that most on here would not patronize this business which could cause him to go out of business.

 

Am I the only one that doesn't get the "they fought for our freedom to live freely" and yet we have laws like this?

 

I don't get it.

 

Maybe the owners didn't know either. I would like to know if the owner of the flags was even told about this "Flag Code"? If so then by who? This guy who took the flag down should have gone to the authorities and ask them to inform the owner. For those who said "Good for him" on the guy who took the US flag down by saying he was upholding the "law", is vigilantism the way to go about it? Didn't he just walk of and take, are shall I say steal someone's flag? and the criminal mischief?

 

I am not saying I would agree with anyone flying another flag above the US flag, But I wonder if this guys dislike for Mexican immigrants fueled his hatred and this guy just did this without having anyone inform the owners. Plus why was the news crew there? Again, not that I agree with this either but what about freedoms in this country? Not arguing about it just asking?

 

Plus as you may have noticed I said "Flag Code", not flag laws, as it appears I was kind of right on my thinking of this not being a law, as the laws concerning this are not enforceable, as listed below:

 

Criminal penalties for certain acts of desecration to the flag were contained in Title 18 of the United States Code prior to 1989. The Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson; June 21, 1989, held the statute unconstitutional. This statute was amended when the Flag Protection Act of 1989 (Oct. 28, 1989) imposed a fine and/or up to I year in prison for knowingly mutilating, defacing, physically defiling, maintaining on the floor or trampling upon any flag of the United States. The Flag Protection Act of 1989 was struck down by the Supreme Court decision, United States vs. Eichman, decided on June 11, 1990.

My Grandpa told me this in a bar that the reason the American flag is always supposed to be higher than any other flag goes back to the Revolutionary War. Back then every state had there own flag that flew over the forts. If you were from South Carolina and you were lost in Virginia and you were not familiar with what their flag looked like, you wouldn’t know if you were in friendly territory. So the US mandated that the American Flag must be flown at all forts and if other flags were flown it must also be the highest. After the Civil War it was a symbol of solidarity between the North & South. I don’t know when the tradition officially became law, but why would any red blooded American be against the law?

 

Very interesting and educational.

 

Is it possible that that law is no longer necessary?

Very interesting and educational.

 

Is it possible that that law is no longer necessary?

No. This is common flag protocol throughout the world. The nation's flag ALWAYS gets flown on top. When there are multiple national flags flown, such as at the UN. The host nation flag is flown on the far left and all other flags are to the right (from the viewer's point of view). Flying another countries flag above the national ensign of the country where you are flying it would be considered a crime in almost every country. That is assuming that the locals left enough of you for the police to arrest.

No. This is common flag protocol throughout the world. The nation's flag ALWAYS gets flown on top. When there are multiple national flags flown, such as at the UN. The host nation flag is flown on the far left and all other flags are to the right (from the viewer's point of view). Flying another countries flag above the national ensign of the country where you are flying it would be considered a crime in almost every country. That is assuming that the locals left enough of you for the police to arrest.

 

You will agree with me that "freedom" policies of other countries around the world have little bearing on how we operate, correct?

 

To me, flying it on top is a sign of respect. However, IMO you can't legislate respect.

 

If a US citizen stands in the public square crying out "I love Mexico more than I love America" we're not going to arrest him or her. If he holds a sign that says "The US sucks!" we're not going to arrest him . If he flies the flag upside down, we're not going to arrest him.

 

Why is that the case but we would arrest someone who flies another country's flag above ours? There's no consistency in the message.

You will agree with me that "freedom" policies of other countries around the world have little bearing on how we operate, correct?

 

To me, flying it on top is a sign of respect. However, IMO you can't legislate respect.

 

If a US citizen stands in the public square crying out "I love Mexico more than I love America" we're not going to arrest him or her. If he holds a sign that says "The US sucks!" we're not going to arrest him . If he flies the flag upside down, we're not going to arrest him.

 

Why is that the case but we would arrest someone who flies another country's flag above ours? There's no consistency in the message.

Arrest him, no. Deport him, YES.

 

I would never dream of going to another country and flying the American flag over say, the Union Jack. Besides, there is no law against flying a Mexican flag alone, beneath or beside the American flag. If you're going to reside in this country, the least you can do is respect it, and that includes it's flag.

Arrest him, no. Deport him, YES.

 

I would never dream of going to another country and flying the American flag over say, the Union Jack. If you're going to reside in this country, the least you can do is respect it, and that includes it's flag.

 

:thumb: Does freedom of expression outweigh respect and common courtesy? Can one not express themselves in a respectful manner?

Arrest him, no. Deport him, YES.

 

I would never dream of going to another country and flying the American flag over say, the Union Jack. Besides, there is no law against flying a Mexican flag alone, beneath or beside the American flag. If you're going to reside in this country, the least you can do is respect it, and that includes it's flag.

 

I don't think anyone would argue with what you say folks SHOULD do. That still doesn't answer the question of legality/legislation and inconsistency.

:thumb: Does freedom of expression outweigh respect and common courtesy? Can one not express themselves in a respectful manner?

 

What does any of the above have to do with legality issues regarding the flag?

 

We'd all love for everyone to love America and fly a flag high and proudly every day as a sign of love for the country and respect for it and its soldiers.

 

We made a decisionn a long time ago as a country to allow people to express themselves even if its taken in a negative light. So, why charge someone with a crime in this particular case?

 

TTC - I'm guessing the veterans in my family who have served during a war would say what most say "I fight to protect the freedoms at home." Don't those freedoms include expression? Don't laws usually come about in order to fix a problem or situation? All I'm asking is why have a law over a beautiful symbol of freedom? I think if you take a step back and think about the answer to the question you told me to ask, you'd realize that having a law goes against the answer you and I get from our soldiers.

 

I don't really need a clarification concerning freedom of expression, speech, etc. I have a pretty decent understanding of the concepts. I was simply saying that our veterans would be best suited to answer the question regarding respect for the flag/flag laws. And, I also would be willing to bet that the answers would vary greatly from support of the flag law to being opposed to same.

Maybe the owners didn't know either. I would like to know if the owner of the flags was even told about this "Flag Code"? If so then by who? This guy who took the flag down should have gone to the authorities and ask them to inform the owner. For those who said "Good for him" on the guy who took the US flag down by saying he was upholding the "law", is vigilantism the way to go about it? Didn't he just walk of and take, are shall I say steal someone's flag? and the criminal mischief?

 

I am not saying I would agree with anyone flying another flag above the US flag, But I wonder if this guys dislike for Mexican immigrants fueled his hatred and this guy just did this without having anyone inform the owners. Plus why was the news crew there? Again, not that I agree with this either but what about freedoms in this country? Not arguing about it just asking?

 

Plus as you may have noticed I said "Flag Code", not flag laws, as it appears I was kind of right on my thinking of this not being a law, as the laws concerning this are not enforceable, as listed below:

 

Criminal penalties for certain acts of desecration to the flag were contained in Title 18 of the United States Code prior to 1989. The Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson; June 21, 1989, held the statute unconstitutional. This statute was amended when the Flag Protection Act of 1989 (Oct. 28, 1989) imposed a fine and/or up to I year in prison for knowingly mutilating, defacing, physically defiling, maintaining on the floor or trampling upon any flag of the United States. The Flag Protection Act of 1989 was struck down by the Supreme Court decision, United States vs. Eichman, decided on June 11, 1990.

 

Nice post. I can respect the veteran's devotion to our flag "and the Republic for which it stands"...but I would think there would be a more civil way to deal with the resolution.

The level of tolerance for some things in the US is going to be our downfall.........

The level of tolerance for some things in the US is going to be our downfall.........

 

 

Give examples.

This is another disturbing trend in our country. I am proud of what this man did. Where do I contribute to his legal defense fund from the soon to be charges from the ACLU.

 

The pic I am including is from Montebelo HS in California where they took it a step further. Notice how the US flag is also upside down. If they are so proud of Mexico and what their country stands for, .. why aren't they living there instead of here?