Hawaii: The crime of "desecration" is committed if someone desecrates in a public place "the national flag or any other object of veneration by a substantial segment of the public." Desecration means "defacing, damaging, polluting, or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the defendant knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the defendant's action."
Penalty: Imprisonment for up to one year and fines up to $10,000
Source: 711-1107
Analysis:
Whether a person commits a crime by defacing or mistreating the flag thus depends entirely upon the reactions of others and whether you can be expected to know what those reactions would be. This means that the crime lies not in the action, but in how people perceive the action.
More:
- Overview of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
- Index of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
