Constitutional Ban on Flag Desecration
is a Civil Liberties centric issue
How many people burn flags in this country as a sign of protest or hatred for America every year? My guess is that the answer is very few, and that the public will not support an amendment to make flag burning not a protected form of expression. And of course, an amendment would be needed because burning the flag has been ruled by the Supreme Court to be protected by the 1st Amendment. You are right, there are many more important issues facing America.
There are a few things I think are troubling with the notion of banning "flag desecration". 1) On the obvious side, it is protect by the first amendment. 2) Not so obvious, when did the the flag become a "sacred" artifact that could be desecrated? It's a symbol of the country not a holy relic. If those that want to ban flag burning need to get hot and bothered about something, why not follow the guidelines for respecting the flag: stop printing it on t-shirts, jackets, underwear, etc? I'm sure there are far more people wearing the flag than burning it.
tseska69 says:
"There are a few things I think are troubling with the notion of banning "flag desecration". 1) On the obvious side, it is protect by the first amendment. 2) Not so obvious, when did the the flag become a "sacred" artifact that could be desecrated? It's a symbol of the country not a holy relic. If those that want to ban flag burning need to get hot and bothered about something, why not follow the guidelines for respecting the flag: stop printing it on t-shirts, jackets, underwear, etc? I'm sure there are far more people wearing the flag than burning it."
Agreed.
Furthermore, as a symbol that represents our country, I think that we are doing far more of a disservice and disrespecting the flag by the actions that we take - politically, financially, socially - as a government and as a people - than by burning it. I think that (with the right intent,) flag burning is actually more deserving of respect than invading another country.
If we allowed this, our morals as a country would be shot. Who knows what could be next?! Laws allowing millions of defenseless babies to be murdered?! Wait....... Wouldn't all those flags being burnt harm the enviroment?! We're talking about a 'real' problem here! SAVE A FLAG, SAVE A TREE TOO. Let's not let one of the few sources of pride in this country go to waste.
Burning a flag is a signal that you are the enemy of the state whose flag is being burned. If someone decides they want to burn a 
US citizens who burn the flags of other countries, with whom we are not at war, should be guilty of a misdemeanor offense. They should be required to pay restitution in the amount of the cost of a replacement flag, to be sent to with a letter of apology to the embassy of the country whose flag was burned.
For those who believe that flag burning is protected "free speech," here is my stock reply: Free Speech, as envisioned by the Founders of The Republic, meant you had the right to communicate your opinion on public policy, without fear of repercussion. There was never any mention of burning flags, placing crucifixes in urine, etc. because these acts were NOT considered speech.
