Cross burning ban upheld

Cross burning ban upheld

Judges say burning crosses is racial intimidation

The Ku Klux Klan and others once again face prosecution for burning crosses following a ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

Court judges voted six to three to rule that burning crosses was a means of racial intimidation and upheld the right of states to punish it despite concerns over free speech.

The judgment came after an appeals court in the state of Virginia ruled that the prohibition of cross burning violated freedom of expression under the US Constitution.

Writing for the majority of judges, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said the protections afforded by the Constitution's First Amendment were not absolute and did not necessarily shield cross-burners.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's only black member and a law-and-order conservative, added: "Those who hate cannot terrorise and intimidate to make their point."

The ruling was welcomed by Virginia Attorney General Jerry W Kilgore, who predicted that more states would now ban cross burning.

Free speech

The Supreme Court case arose after Virginia's highest appeals court ruled in 2001 that the state's 50-year-old laws banning cross burning violated the right to free speech.

That ruling related to a number of cases in the state:

• In one, a man was fined for leading a rally of 18 robed and hooded Ku Klux Klan members who stood around a burning cross

• In another, two men were convicted of attempting to burn a cross on the front lawn of a house owned by a black neighbour

Virginia's attorney general asked the Supreme Court to overturn the appeal court ruling, arguing that the intentional burning of crosses for the purpose of intimidating people ought to be a crime.