Subject: gay flag burning not hate crime
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 02:20:32 -0400

from update, southern california's gay and lesbian weekly newspaper

Authorities Say Burning Gay Flag 
Not A Hate Crime

By Harry McCann
For Update

SAN DIEGO - It was usual for Carlos Flores to fly both the 
American flag and the rainbow flag outside his home in Allied 
Gardens.
They were both at half-staff, in mourning for the tragedy in 
Oklahoma City when, sometime between 8:00 p.m. Easter 
Sunday, April 21 and 8:45 a.m. on Monday, April 22, someone 
burned the rainbow flag. They did not destroy it completely, but 
burned it and left the American flag unscathed.
Flores called the police and reported the incident. He said the 
police were prompt getting to him, "They got out here by 9:15 or 
so." He then added, "But the officer didn't know what the rainbow 
flag meant. I told him I wanted to report it, to have him file it as a 
hate crime, but he said it would most likely be listed as 
vandalism." Next stop for Flores was the Lesbian and Gay Men's 
Community Center to report what had happened. He also 
expects, as a third step, to talk to Sixth District City 
Councilmember Valerie Stallings about the incident. Stallings 
belongs, along with Flores, to San Diego Frontrunners, a political 
and running club.
"I want to make sure that this is listed as a hate crime," Flores 
told Update, "They left the American flag alone and burned the 
Gay flag."
A spokesperson at San Diego's Anti-Defamation League (ADL) 
initially professed a lack of awareness of the rainbow flag's 
significance, but said the burning of it, by itself, would not be 
eligible for inclusion on a list of hate crimes.
"It wouldn't even be in the category of 'incidents of bias' without 
something to indicate the flag was burned for anti-Gay reasons," 
said Kathy Poulin of the ADL.
Asked if the fact that the American flag remained untouched 
was an indicator of motive, Poulin said, "I know it's very difficult, 
but the fact the other flag was left alone could mean that whoever 
burned the flag heard someone and didn't have time to light the 
second one. It doesn't mean, by itself, the action was hate 
motivated."
According to Poulin, if a note or some graffiti had been found 
at the scene, the action might have qualified as a hate crime for 
purposes of the police report.
Speaking for the ADL, Poulin added, "We have a committee 
that screens what we get from the Sheriff, just to be sure we list only 
crimes that are definitely hate crimes" Poulin said.
Poulin is the coordinator for Hate Crimes Registry, the two-
week-old, county-wide service provided by the ADL.
With the cooperation of virtually all local and county law 
enforcement authorities and agencies, as well as the City of San 
Diego's Human Relation Commission, the Hate Crimes Registry 
will attempt to, at first, merely take what local agencies have 
reported to the Sheriff's Department, and incorporate it into a 
registry for the use in finding ways to reduce such crimes.
Poulin said there may be additional activities in the future but 
the new Registry, "wants to stay small and go slow for now."
Although nothing was written or scrawled at the site, and no 
notes were found, Flores says he has had the word "Fag" scratched 
into a sign at the front of his home several months ago. If that kind 
of thing had continued, and a pattern of harassment had 
developed, police could have begun surveillance of the property, 
and the burning might have been prevented. Flores says there 
really hasn't been a pattern.
Flores said he would continue pressing the city through the 
police and as many other channels as were available. He said he 
would do it because although in the purest technical sense of the 
law he's not a victim of hate crime, he knows he is a victim of hate.