Front Page  »  

SLO police probe burning of gay pride flag

June 2, 2017

San Luis Obispo police have launched a hate crime investigation into the alleged burning of a gay pride flag.

On Thursday, the police department received a report about the burning of a gay pride flag within the city limits. It is unclear if police have identified any suspects.

“San Luis Obispo is a welcoming city, and the San Luis Obispo Police Department is committed to the safety and inclusion of all its community members,” a SLO police news release states.

Investigators request that anyone who has information about the alleged crime call the police department at 805-781-7312 or Crime Stoppers at 805-549-STOP. Likewise, police encourage any community members who believe they have been victims of hate crime to call SLO police.

Members of the LGBTQIA community who have been the victims of hate crime may call the GALA center at 805-541-4252 in order to received referrals for support services.


Loading...
Subjects:                     
Related:


30 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Speaking of hate crime investigations, how is the investigation proceeding into the hate crime committed against Michael Stack, the SLO high teacher that was intimidated into resigning after receiving a death threat, for quoting the Bible in an editorial in the school newspaper? One would think a simple reverse phone number query would easily locate the perpetrator.


0

Sorry, “lgbtqia” people, but the rainbow doesn’t mean what you think it does.


Your activists have tried to hijack the rainbow but its true meaning hasn’t been forgotten. Genesis 9:13. Look it up.


1

Sorry, “pasoparent5” the meaning of the rainbow is not up to you or the MagicSkyFairy cult , never was.


The MagicSkyFairy cult has been hijacking local culture from the beginning, just like the cultures before it.


-1

I wonder what would happen if a law-abiding individual in SLO had the Confederate Stars & Bars Battle Flag burned which had been flying in front of their home?


Would the San Luis Obispo police launch a hate crime investigation into the burning of an archaic Confederate flag?


How about if one flew a Gadsden flag, a Jolly Roger flag or perhaps a flag(s) of the country(ies) of their ancestry? Would the SLOPD overreact in the same manner?


Highly unlikely.


1

Jolly Roger? No one is out there beating up pirates! You are subverting logic and ignoring reality. No one in this country gets beat up for being American (or a pirate). People DO get beat and killed for being gay and trans-gendered.


What exactly do you think the intended message of the flag burner was in this case??


0

I’m not “subverting logic and ignoring reality.” This overreaction by law enforcement — particularly the terribly cryptic “Community Message” sent out by the SLOPD is appalling. This sort of communique is sent out for political reasons. It’s offensive:


“Community: Burning of a pride flag earlier today


WHAT: Suspicious Circumstances


WHEN: Thursday, June 1st, 2017


WHERE: City of San Luis Obispo


SUSPECT: Unknown


DEPARTMENT CONTACT: Watch Commander


On 6-1-2017, a report was made to San Luis Police Department documenting the burning of a PRIDE flag within the city limits. The San Luis Obispo police department has since dedicated resources to investigating this crime.


Members of the LGBTQIA community who have been the victim of a Hate Crime can contact the GALA center at 805-541-4252 for referrals to support services.


Any community member who believes they have been the victim of a Hate Crime are encouraged to contact San Luis Obispo Police Department to make a report, 805-781-7312.


San Luis Obispo is a welcoming city and the San Luis Obispo Police Department is committed to the safety and inclusion of all its community members.


If you have any informat ion about this crime you are encouraged to call the San Luis Obispo Police Department at 805-781-7312 or Crime Stoppers at 805-549-STOP.”


0

The only Confederate flag that matters is the last one, the white flag.


See it is loss of objective reasoning (by some in society) that prevents people from being able to tell the difference between a crime of hate or just being a criminal.


0

WTF is “LGBTQIA”? This PC BS is getting to be a bit much. So is the unequal treatment by gov’t and law enforcement of issues depending on sexuality.


0

If burning the American flag is not a hate crime than this isn’t either.


1

A hate crime against… who?


0

Patriots! and if you say it’s not you are lying. People burn the American flag because they hate patriotic people and the nation patriots love.


0

You can pretend the law isn’t settled on that one if it makes you feel better.


0

First rule of law school….No law is ever completely settled.


0

You are making an “apple and oranges” comparison here. The American flag is a symbol the entire country. The rainbow flag is a symbol of a specific minority group based on gender affiliation — a protected class. A fair comparison would be if someone burned a flag with a Christian “fish” on it — that could qualify as a hate crime.


While I doubt that someone went to the trouble of buying a rainbow flag just to burn it, if they did so, I don’t think that would meet the criteria for “hate crime” since it was not directed at specific individuals identifying as LGBTQIA. It is more likely that someone who was LGBTQIA owned the flag and this vandalism was directed at them. You can quarrel with the concept of adding “hate” to “crime” to create a more serious category of crime, but under law this one probably qualifies.


0

Bologna…patriots are a group of people that can be hated for their beliefs just like any other group. The size of the group matters not.


0

=============================================================================== 170601027 06/01/17 Received:09:52 Dispatched:09:52 Arrived:10:00 Cleared:10:44 =============================================================================== Type: Vandalism Location:PN2 As Observed: Destruct/Damage/Vandalize Prop Addr: MILL BLOCK OF; GRID K-08, San Luis O Clearance Code:Report To Follow Responsible Officer: Rouse, Q Units: 4232 Des: (MDC) Completed call incid#=170601027 call=35l CALL COMMENTS:


0

This doesn’t pass the smell test. My bet is it’s made to look like a hate crime.


1

I think you’re on to something…


1

It’s pretty simple.


Did the flag get ripped out of someone’s hand and burned in front of them? = good chance hate crime sticking.


Or did someone buy a gay pride flag they purchased themselves in order to burn it? = political speech. The city cannot prevent one from expressing these views. It is their ignorant right to do so.


This article did not give many details…other than a flag was found burnt within the City limits….if a hate crime occurs in the woods and no one is there to see it….is it really a hate crime?


There’s plenty of hate out there in the world. Do we have to go looking for it?


Call me when you find people with pointy hats burning flags in our community.


0

Oh, the horror….but it ok to burn the American flag. That’s not a hate crime. Strange times we are living in.


0

It depends on how the American Flag is burnt doesn’t it? Intent matters.


Burning the flag is part of, end of life, proper care for a flag. It should not be allowed to touch the ground, etc. If soiled or tattered it should be burnt. At least that is how I was raised to treat our flag.


Burning it for political speech, while disrespectful, is protected by 1st Amendment. I don’t think there’s a consensus on whether it is OK to do.


It is certainly legal to do so, as is burning a gay pride flag you personally own.


Must be a slow news day.


0

So you’re saying it should be OK to burn gay pride flags on the birthday of the guy who designed it? And that it does not constitute hate speech toward a specific group of American citizens because of the supreme court decision Texas v Johnson, 1989 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_v._Johnson)?


0

Yes — so long as they are not someone elses property.


It’s very sad how the homosexuals used the rainbow to advertise their lifestyle, but that’s another story.


0

Don’t worry the MagicSkyFairy cult is trying to repossess the rainbow farther up the page.


“but that’s another story.” of intolerance like it was 1950 and white only water fountains were a thing, different year same thinly veiled hate of people who are different.


0

Sounds like protected free speech. Except, not in this case because it was vandalism according to the police log.


0

Yes, It would be perfectly fine burn your gay pride flag on the birthday of the guy who “designed” it. Not even close to hate speech. That would be political speech–distasteful but clearly OK.


I can choose to dislike or even hate certain groups of people without any foundation to do so. This is the USA after all, but doing so would make me a bigot not a criminal.


It is when I take these misplaced stereotypes of the group that I am aggrieved against and direct my anger towards an individual of that group, only then does it start to become hate speech.


It is certainly the line law enforcement uses when deciding these matters.


By your logic you would make many millions of American susceptible to the application of hate crime legislation simply because they don’t like gays and make their views known. That is censorship.


And in this instance it appears to be the the flag of a politician. So it is hard to tell where the hates for gays ends in this situation and where the hate for politicians begins. My money is on political hate.


Spend some time in the south and you may have a better idea as to what hate speech really is.


This doesn’t merit the fabricated outrage.


0
1 2