I'll start off with my personal feelings. Flag burners aren't worth the time it takes to flick my Bic. If I see someone burning a flag in protest I am likely to have some very strong words, a call to the authorities for an unsafe fire in a public place, and charges under the hate speech legislation. It also dangerously shortens my fuse when it comes to physical violence.
Burning a flag is offensive. I don't care what country it's from. It may be a form of protest but a country's flag is a powerful symbol.
On our Nation's battlefields men died carrying it, charged through carnage to pick it up, and rallied around it to win our Nation's freedom and hold this Nation together.
I would put flag burning in the same category as burning a cross, desecrating a religious artifact, or using hate speech. I am an American. If you step on my flag you are stepping on me, those who came before me, and the ideals which we hold dear. I would not burn another Nation's flag for the same reasons.
With all that said I do not believe an Amendment to the Constitution is the appropriate place for restrictions on flag burning. The Constitution is a document that provides the framework for our government and enumerates the duties and powers of our leaders. 13 states have laws against the burning of crosses, and for good reason. If it needs to be stopped pass legislation, do not amend our government's framework.
Most would say burning a flag in protest is freedom of speech. I regard it as hate speech.
Burning a flag is offensive. I don't care what country it's from. It may be a form of protest but a country's flag is a powerful symbol.
On our Nation's battlefields men died carrying it, charged through carnage to pick it up, and rallied around it to win our Nation's freedom and hold this Nation together.
I would put flag burning in the same category as burning a cross, desecrating a religious artifact, or using hate speech. I am an American. If you step on my flag you are stepping on me, those who came before me, and the ideals which we hold dear. I would not burn another Nation's flag for the same reasons.
With all that said I do not believe an Amendment to the Constitution is the appropriate place for restrictions on flag burning. The Constitution is a document that provides the framework for our government and enumerates the duties and powers of our leaders. 13 states have laws against the burning of crosses, and for good reason. If it needs to be stopped pass legislation, do not amend our government's framework.
Most would say burning a flag in protest is freedom of speech. I regard it as hate speech.
The Bill of No Rights
The United States has become a place where entertainers and professional athletes are mistaken for people of importance. Robert A. Heinlein
The United States has become a place where entertainers and professional athletes are mistaken for people of importance. Robert A. Heinlein