Oh jesus you naughty boy. Better luck next time.

[Chas]

I don't even think burning flags should be illegal

In an ideal society, where people all behave rationally, yes, I would agree. But, in the real world where people behave..well, like humans...and there are a lot of different subgroups, each holding intractible sets of ideals that often conflict with other subgroup's intractible ideals -- you either have to 1) regulate what people believe (which is impossible when the ideal in question is intractible) or 2) regulate what people do (through legal governance and law) or 3) simply leave it alone and let violence errupt as it most certainly will. Of the three possibilities (or another that I perhaps failed to think of?), what would you propose a governing body to do when there is a predictably large swath of the population that will riot when they see a national flag burned, or an image of Muhammad degraded as the butt-end of a joke?

There is no role for government in limiting speech that is offensive. It is the slipperiest of slopes.

You're offended? Tough shit.

You're going to whine about it? Grow the fuck up.

You're going to riot? You're going to get arrested or shot.