Utah: Abuse of a flag is a misdemeanor which occurs if anyone "places any unauthorized inscription or other thing upon any flag of the United States or of any state of the United States," uses a flag for advertising, or "knowingly casts contempt upon the flag of the United States or of any state of the United States by publicly mutilating, defacing, defiling, burning, or trampling upon it."
Penalty: none specified.
Source: 76-9-601
Analysis:
Utah is one of the states that uses the word "abuse" instead of "desecration." This is perhaps a step forward in that it isn't labeled a religious offense (though it's hard to see how one can "defile" something purely profane), but the label "abuse" has problems. Does it merely convey that defacing the flag is a form of "misuse" (like abusing prescription drugs) or is it meant to say that defacing a flag is causing injury, like when someone abuses an animal or a child?
Even if we simply take "abuse" as misuse (the term used by some other states), this assumes that states have the authority to determine what is and is not "proper" use of the flag. Moreover, if "use" is all that's at issue, then why do they make it clear that all of these forms of misuse are just example of "casting contempt" on the flag, something which is necessarily a form of expression rather than simply an action? It appears that Utah defines "misuse" of the American flag as expressing disfavored beliefs about it.
More:
- Overview of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
- Index of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
