OLR Bill Analysis

sSB 198

AN ACT CONCERNING DESECRATION OF WAR OR VETERANS' MEMORIALS.

SUMMARY:

This bill defines two crimes concerning war or veterans' memorials or monuments and sets the corresponding penalty for them.

Under the bill, a person is guilty of interference with a war or veterans' memorial or monument if he or she, without authorization of the government body or veterans' organization responsible for the placement, control, or maintenance of the memorial or monument, (1) intentionally defaces, mutilates, or destroys it or (2) removes it, or any part of it, from its official location.

A person is guilty of unlawfully possessing, purchasing, or selling a war or veterans' memorial or monument if he or she (1) possesses, purchases, or attempts to purchase a memorial or monument; (2) sells, offers for sale, or attempts to sell one; or (3) transfers or disposes of a war or veterans' memorial or monument, or any part of one, knowing that it has been unlawfully removed from its official location.

The bill makes both crimes a class D felony. A class D felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $ 5,000, or both. The bill requires anyone guilty of either crime to be fined $ 5,000.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

COMMITTEE ACTION

Select Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable