At least it shouldn’t be…

If you go to Wal-Mart and buy a 3′ x 5′ American flag, take it home, and set it on fire in your driveway — there is no crime.
And — while it irrefutably shows that you hate America — it definitely isn’t a hate crime.
But if you come into my driveway, take down the flag flying above my garage, and set it on fire — well, if I don’t shoot you first, you should be arrested for committing a crime.
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Now, if I go to the Koran store, buy the latest edition of the Muslim holy book, take it home, and shove it down my toilet — that shouldn’t be labeled as a hate crime. A waste of money? Definitely. But a crime? No.
And it should still fall under the same guise of “protected speech” as burning an American flag.
Which makes this headline and lede from the AP misleading and dishonest:
Hate-crime arrests in Quran desecrations at Pace University
NEW YORK (AP) _ A 23-year-old man was arrested Friday on hate-crime charges after he threw a Quran in a toilet at Pace University on two separate occasions, police said.
In AP’s story, if you didn’t know any better, the story would be that Stanislav Shmulevich of Brooklyn was arrested for simply throwing a Koran down the toilet.
Which, while offensive to Muslims, should not be a crime.
So why was Mr. Shmulevich really arrested? As Dan Riehl points out — it’s because the Koran he flushed down the toilet didn’t belong to him.
Flag burners hate America. But it’s not a hate crime to burn a flag.
Koran flushers hate Muslims. But it’s not a hate crime to flush a Koran.
Are you following me so far?
What Mr. Shmulevich should have been arrested for is theft and destruction of property.
But not for a hate crime. I wonder why the AP didn’t bother to report that small detail of who owned the Koran in question?
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Tom Maquire at Just One Minute adds, “If he had put a crucifix in a glass of urine, it would have been art.”
Crime Yes, “Hate Crime”, No…
Tom Maguire has a post up about an arrest at Pace University. A man was arrested for the "hate crime" of throwing a koran down a toilet.
I Guess He Should Have Just Burned A Flag
This will make for a fascinating prosecutio…
Left by Blue Crab Boulevard on July 29th, 2007 at 7:02 am