Iowa Man Sentenced To 16 Years For Burning Rainbow Pride Flag

So, apparently burning the U.S. flag is regarded as freedom of expression and lumped into protected speech (according to Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson), but of course burning the pride flag is a hate crime.

Obviously I don’t condone either one, but let’s have some sort of consistency here, shall we?

An Iowa man is serving 16 FREAKING years in prison for burning a rainbow pride flag that was swaying outside of the United Church of Christ in Ames.

The Daily Wire reported:

For the crime of reckless use of explosives or fire, 30-year-old Adolfo Martinez received one year in prison. For the crime of harassment, he received just 30 days. For the hate crime of burning an LGBT rainbow pride flag, Martinez received a full 15 years.

Furthermore, the greatest contradiction of them all – the American flag oversees the protections that INCLUDE the rights for the the LGBQT (I always feel like I’m missing letters) community.

Just let the dude serve for the reckless use of fire, vandalism, and harassment.

HEAVY. SIGH.