Flag Protection Act of 2003

Flag Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to revise provisions regarding desecration of the flag to set penalties with respect to persons who: (1) destroy or damage a U.S. flag with intent to provoke, and in circumstances reasonably likely to produce, imminent violence or a breach of the peace; (2) steal or knowingly convert to their use, or the use of another, a U.S. flag belonging to the United States and intentionally destroy or damage that flag; and (3) within any lands reserved for the use of the United States, or under the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction thereof, steal or knowingly convert to their use, or the use of another, a U.S. flag belonging to another person and intentionally destroy or damage that flag.

Expresses the sense of the Congress that the States should enact prohibitions similar to the provisions of this Act.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2162 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2162

      To provide for protection of the flag of the United States.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 20, 2003

   Mr. Boucher (for himself, Mr. Holden, Mr. Schiff, and Mr. Frost) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To provide for protection of the flag of the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Flag Protection Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--Section 700 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 700. Protection of the flag of the United States
    ``(a) Actions Promoting Violence.--Any person who destroys or 
damages a flag of the United States with intent to provoke imminent 
violence or a breach of the peace, and in circumstances reasonably 
likely to produce imminent violence or a breach of the peace, shall be 
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
    ``(b) Damaging a Flag Belonging to the United States.--Any person 
who steals or knowingly converts to his or her use, or to the use of 
another, a flag of the United States belonging to the United States and 
intentionally destroys or damages that flag shall be fined under this 
title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
    ``(c) Damaging a Flag of Another on Federal Land.--Any person who, 
within any lands reserved for the use of the United States, or under 
the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction thereof, steals or knowingly 
converts to his or her use, or to the use of another, a flag of the 
United States belonging to another person and intentionally destroys or 
damages that flag shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not 
more than two years, or both.
    ``(d) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed as 
indicating an intent on the part of Congress to deprive any State, 
territory, possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of 
jurisdiction over any offense over which it would have jurisdiction in 
the absence of this section.
    ``(e) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `flag of the 
United States' means any flag of the United States, or any part 
thereof, made of any substance, of any size, in a form that is commonly 
displayed as a flag and would be taken to be a flag by the reasonable 
observer.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 33 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking out the item 
relating to section 700 and inserting in lieu thereof the following new 
item:

``700. Protection of the flag of the United States.''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the States should enact 
prohibitions similar to the provisions of this Act in an order to 
provide the maximum protection to the flag of the United States.
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