The State Assembly gave preliminary approval Oct. 2 to two bills that would provide new protections for the American flag.
Assembly bill 157 prohibits a person from destroying, damaging or mutilating a U.S. flag or causing a U.S. flag to come into contact with urine, feces or expectoration with malicious intent.
If approved, violators would face up to $10,000 in fines and nine months behind bars.
“We’re trying to protect our symbol of freedom,” said Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford.
Suder said this is an issue very important to many veterans, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The issue first came up when Nikki Alanzio, a Wisconsin resident from Muskego, noticed a gas-station owner using the American flag as a drop-cloth when painting his building.
“It appalled me. I always assumed it was against the law to desecrate the flag,” Alanzio said. “It’s one of our national symbols.”
Alanzio protested the gas station and started a petition before lobbying at the Capitol building.
This legislation is lawmakers’ latest attempt to replace Wisconsin’s current flag-desecration law that the state Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in the case of State v. Janssen in 1998. The court struck down the law after finding the language was vague and violated the constitutional guarantee of free speech. This new bill attempts to correct that vagueness.
“We’ve written this bill in a fashion that is clear and concise,” Suder said. “It will pass constitutional muster.”
Alanzio said she and many people who signed the petition did not even know the law had been changed.
“I think it’s a problem in the United States that most people don’t know about every little amendment,” Alanzio said. “It’s time to support what our forefathers tried to protect.”
However, some legislators say this bill is unnecessary, because it violates certain freedoms.
“We are skirting the whole First Amendment of freedom of speech,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison. “The bill is more about symbolism than good public policy.”
Pocan added that the State Legislature has more important issues to worry about than the flag.
The Assembly also told condominium associations in AB 354 that they cannot interfere with an owner “respectfully displaying” the American flag. Legislators voted to tell condominium associations they cannot prohibit American flag displays.
State Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Brookfield, who sponsored the change, stopped amendments that would have given the same protection to the state flag and flags of nations not at war with the U.S.
Legislators put off a final vote on these legislations without little debate. However, insults and outrage dominated discussion.
Suder said debates and legislation surrounding this issue have come up in several previous sessions, and about 75 percent of residents statewide approve the bills.
The Assembly decided to vote on these bills again when it returns to the Capitol Oct. 21. The bills would have to be approved by both houses of the Legislature and Gov. Jim Doyle to become law.
