Celebrate Free Speech

This Independence Day we ask our American friends to celebrate free speech.

Take a moment and think about Iran, sure they are a Democracy because they vote for their leaders, but you may have found something peculiar happening after their most recent vote? It started off as a very free open protest, but quickly turned to beatings, murders, more violence, and imprisonments minus trials. Does it look like Iranians have freedom of speech yet?

This is why we watch the flag burning controversy closely here at the Index. The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to ban flag burning over 20 years ago, but six of the last eight Congresses have wasted time on voted on the Flag Desecration Amendment. And if you are cool with that, we recommend this Penn and Teller video for an entertaining opposite point of view.

So you might be able to still burn an American flag, but in related news, writing on the bathroom stalls in a Texas highschool, well.. That’s a felony.

“This isn’t just Joanie loves Chachi on a school bench. This is a felony,” said Capt. David Alford with the Baytown Police Department.

Graffiti is a felony under Texas law if the target is a school.

Now schools — and the police they work with — are using the law to its full extent. It doesn’t matter if the damage is minor or if minors are doing the damage.

In January, the Precinct 4 Constable’s office charged two middle school girls with felonies after they wrote on the bathroom wall.

• KHOU Houston – School Graffiti Law is too tough
• Reddit – 17 year old Texan was convicted of a felony and served 14 months in prison for writing “Help, I’m stuck inside the wall” in the bathroom
• Law.Cornell – Texas v. Johnson 1989
• Wikipedia – Flag Desecration Amendment
• Mahalo – What do You Know About Flagburning
• Mahalo – Penn and Teller