The House of Representives today passed an amendment that would
prohibit the burning of the Flag of the United
States. The bill was passed by a vote of 286 to 130. The required two-thirds was present. This is the fifth time a flag burning amendment
has passed the House.
The bill will now move on to the Senate,
where it stands the best chance of passing ever. If a majority of
two-thirds passes the
bill, it will then move on to the states to be ratified with a
seven-year window open on the ratification. Each time an amendment
like this was passed in the House, it died in the Senate, the last time
being in 2000.
An informal survey conducted by the Associated Press suggested that the vote will be close — 34 senators surveyed opposed the
amendment, the exact number required to defeat it. However, supporters of the amendment are optimistic that the amendment will
pass because four seats were gained by the Republicans in the election last November.
The amendment seeks to overturn the 1989 Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson which ruled that desecration of the flag was legal.
Source: Wikinews
I think it's unconstitutional. Clearly, you're telling people not to burn something symbolic - burning the American flag might be someone's way of saying this country is being run wrong, for example. It's a free speech right - it's a flag, not a god. I don't worship the flag - nobody does or should. Why does it deserve special attention?
____
If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.
I think that the American flag should not be burned, because it is a symbolic meaning of what our country has been through.
Do you think that it should be illegal. That's basically just a form of censorchip. The flag is just a symbol, and not a symbol of everything we have been through. Banning flag burning is saying that the government has a right to control what you think.
The flag is a symbol of ideals and a symbol of what we've been through. The flag even stands for our right to destroy it.
What purpose does making flag burning illegal serve? It's a symbol, and burning it is a symbolic gesture. It's not harming anyone else's rights in any way.
Burning the flag is more American than banning flag burning. By a LONG shot.
-Tim
"It costs nothing to be honest, loyal, and true." -Avett Bros.
Such an amendment will never receive the necessary ratification from the States to become a part of the Constitution. Americans are really quite hesitant to amend the Constitution, especially when the amendment in question contradicts one of the core values of American philosophy.
While flag-burning may be a distasteful practice, it is probably one of the best examples of "political speech" extant in the arena of public opinion. The whole POINT of "freedom of speech" is to protect "unpopular" speech. After all, why would we need to protect "popular" speech.
The people who support this amendment are short-sighted, and are in fact disgracing the symbol that they wish to protect by utterly rejecting the very principles which that symbol represents.
percivale
flag burning should not be made illegal. i cant believe the police would actually arrest someone for burning a flag. if it someones property, then why the hell cant he or she burn it