Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. — A sharply divided Virginia Supreme Court struck down a state law against cross-burning Friday, saying such acts of bigotry are a protected form of speech.
In a 4-3 ruling, the court threw out the convictions of three people in two cases. One involved the burning of a cross at a Ku Klux Klan rally; the other involved an attempted burning in the backyard of a black person.
"Under our system of government, people have the right to use symbols to communicate. They patriotically wave the flag or burn it in protest; they may reverently worship the cross or burn it as an expression of bigotry," Justice Donald Lemons said.
"While reasonable prohibitions upon time, place and manner of speech, and statutes of neutral application may be enforced, government may not regulate speech based on hostility — or favoritism — toward the underlying message expressed."
In dissent, Justice Leroy Hassell wrote that the law "for almost 50 years has protected our citizens from being placed in fear of bodily harm by the burning of a cross."
Prosecutors had argued that the law, which carried up to five years in prison and a fine of $2,500, was constitutional because it applied equally to anyone who burned a cross to intimidate someone.
Attorney General Randolph Beales said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Cross-burning with the intent to intimidate is a form of domestic terrorism, which is intolerable in a free society," Beales said in a statement.
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