New York: It is a misdemeanor for someone to put "any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement, of any nature" on the national and state flag, as well as to put any representations of the flags on any "blank check, bill head, letter head, envelope or other business stationery." It is also a crime to "publicly mutilate, deface, defile, or defy, trample upon, or cast contempt upon either by words or act" the national or state flag.
Exceptions are made for any "certificate, diploma, warrant, or commission of appointment to office, ornamental picture, article of jewelry, stationery for use in private correspondence, or newspaper or periodical."
A "flag" here means "any flag, standard, color, shield or ensign, or any picture or representation, of either thereof, made of any substance, or represented on any substance, and of any size, evidently purporting to be, either of, said flag, standard, color, shield or ensign, of the United States of America, or of the state of New York, or a picture or a representation, of either thereof, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars, and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or by which the person seeing the same, without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, shield or ensign of the United States of America or of the state of New York."
Penalty: none specified.
Source: 136)
Analysis:
Although it is common to ban putting the flag on advertisements, or putting advertisements on the flag, New York's law goes further by making it a crime to put the flag on checks, letter head, and business stationary of all sorts. New York is also one of the states to ban casting "contempt" on the national and state flags not just by actions, but also "by words," which makes it clear that one of the purposes of New York's law is to suppress particular ideas and messages.
New York is also one of the states to define "flag" broadly to include any representation, any piece, and any number of stars and stripes so long as a person who sees it can, without thinking about it, recognize the object as a representation of the national or state flag. This is important because it indicates that it doesn't matter whether the object is a national flag, but whether others can recognize that it represents the national flag. Therefore, what matters is how others react — and this means that the crime lies in what message is communicated to others rather than in the nature of the action being performed.
More:
- Overview of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
- Index of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
