Originally Posted by mmarsh

Sorry Folks,

Thats why the police are called law-enforcement, (as in they can enforce the laws, not ordinary citizens). The bar owner was wrong and it was illegal to display the flag like that, BUT its never for ordinary citizens to take the laws into their own hands. That's a very slippery slope, once you start down it on a minor thing such as this, things can very quickly get out of control. In fact, its usually what happens, the Ku Klux Klan and various gun fights in the Wild West were all about people taking the law (or what they thought was the law) into their own hands. You don't ever want to go there.

As USMC said, what the vet did, despite the best of intentions WAS vandalism and WAS criminal trespass, and probably theft as well (the vet kept the US flag).

The bar owner COULD have press charges had he wished (and he still might). Even if I was in the wrong, if someone touched my property without permission I would press charges. And who knows, had this been in Texas or Florida the bar owner might have claimed 'Castle Doctrine' protection (in defending place of business) and shot the vet dead, and THAT would have been legal. Strange world we live in isn't it?

The best solution was if the vet simply ASKED for the bar owner to change the display of flags first, which there is NO indication that he did.

Thats why TALKING to people is usually the best way of resolving disputes.
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USMC

I don't disagree that the PD and the Feds have better things to do. But I think most people if they were told by a local LEO to remove an offensive display would do so. Most people are not ACLU attorneys and don't want a hassle with the local sheriff over a flag.