Ales Rarus

Stop Congress from Amending the Constitution to Limit Free Speech
Urge your Members of Congress to Oppose the Flag Desecration Amendment!

For more than a decade, numerous members of Congress have tried to amend — with seemingly endless resources — the U.S. Constitution to give the government the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the American flag. Civil libertarians have fought back hard with coalitions of veterans, religious leaders and other Americans who believe that such a constitutional amendment would undermine the very principles for which the American flag stands.

*Sigh* How many more times with this monstrosity rear its ugly head? The American flag - any flag for that matter - is just a symbol. Citizens of any free country should have the right to protest what they see as disgraceful actions taken in their name by their government, so long as doing so doesn't not endanger others. A legal expression of such a protest should be the "desecration" of a symbol of that government/country, including its flag.

This should be especially true for the US. Our constitution, and the Supreme Court interpretations thereof, guarantees the rights of free expression and to petition the government with grievances. To ban flag-burning would violate both.

Perhaps flag-burning is a distasteful thing. I'd have to be pretty ticked off to do it myself, but tastefulness should not guide legislation of constitutional law. If it were, we might as well ban foul language, sandals worn with socks, reality TV, and Hillary Clinton.