West Virginia: Desecration of a flag is a misdemeanor which occurs when someone puts "any words, figures, marks, pictures, designs, drawings, or any advertisement of any nature" on a flag or uses a flag for advertising. It is also a crime to "publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy, trample upon or cast contempt, either by words or acts."
A "flag" is "any flag, standard, color, ensign, or any representation or picture of a flag, standard, color or ensign, made of or upon any substance whatever, and of any size whatever, showing the national colors, the stars and stripes."
Penalty: none specified.
Source: 61-1-8
Analysis:
Like a few other states, West Virginia explicitly bans speech by making it a crime to "defy" or "cast contempt" on the American flag "by words" as well as acts. This means that it's not just against the law to burn the flag in public, but also to carry the flag in public and tell people about how you think the flag represents so many horrible, immoral, and outrageous things these days.
More:
- Overview of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
- Index of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Burning, Desecration
