What is flag burning? The Flag Discretion Amendment, often referred to as the flag-burning Amendment was made to be a constitutional movement, allowing the United States Congress to prohibit statutorily, the physical discretion of the flagOn the 14th of June 1777, the Continental Congress approved the new stars and stripes design on the flag. In order to designate and protect ships at sea, so that the ships could get to where they needed to go with no problems. However, the flag did not become general popular symbol until after the Civil War. By the late 1800’s, an organized flag protection movement was born in reaction to recognize commercial and political misuse of the flag. Illinois, Pennsylvania and South Dakota became the first states …show more content…
Although supreme court held that New York could not convict a person based on his verbal remarks about disrespecting the flag. Around 1970, the new issue came across of the physical desecration, mutilation, commercial and political misuse of flags. The Supreme Court upheld the Texas court of appeals finding that texas law it is a crime to mistreat the flag in a way, and the one responsible will offend person who strongly believe the act is unconstitutional.In the 60’s is was a hard time for some people, they found that burning a flag is a sign of protest. In the 1990s, an amendment to the constitution was rejected. The congress rejected that the people have the power to prohibit the physical discretion of the flag. The amendment failed to get a ⅔’s vote in either House or Senate. In 1990, when the people wanted to protest against a law, they burned most of the flags. The supreme court overturned several flag burning convictions brought under The Flag Protection Act in 1989. “Symbolic expression” is a phrase often used to describe expression that is mixed with elements of conduct. The court addressed the highly emotional issue of flag …show more content…
The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed and reaffirmed that the right to desecrate the flag is included in the Constitution’s protection of speech. Flag burning and desecration is offensive precisely because it is political. Experience shows that the way to fight political expression with which one disagrees is not to outlaw it, as Congress has repeatedly sought to do, but to express disapproval. The US flag is sometimes burnt as a symbol of protest, often against the policies of the American government. The flag can also be used in other symbolic ways, such as wearing it in an offensive manner or, as in this case, displaying it
In Johnny Cash’s song, The Ragged Old Flag it says, “In her own good land here she’s been abused. She’s been burned, dishonored, denied and refused.” To me this means that people have stopped honoring all that it stands for. The flag stands for all of the battles and sacrifices the United States has had to make to get it to where it is today. People
At the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, Johnson decided to burn an American flag in protest of some policies made by the Reagan administration and some Dallas corporations that he did not agree with. Noone sustained physical injury or was even threatened with physical injury, but many were offended by the jesture made by Johnson. The Texas penal code forbids the desecration of a venerated object.
Throughout time there have been many amendments to the United States Constitution. Some have had little to no effect on the population. One amendment that this writer will take a look at is the Fourteenth Amendment. The wording of the amendment has been debated here recently but bottom line it abolished slavery. This amendment also made an attempt to equalize everyone that is born here in America or naturalized. The ripple effect of this change to the constitution is still being felt today. It is hard to imagine living in a world where the African American community was not considered equal to the white man. A ground breaking distinction in the language written out in the document was that of it applying on the federal level as well as the state jurisdiction. This is especially important as we see the civil union marriages have conflict
To the Majority Opinion it’s a flag of our nation but to the Dissenting opinion its means more than just a flag. It means “White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & velour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice." In this case the Dissenting opinion gave reasons why flag burning should be banned. Eventually Congress passed the Flag Protection Act of 1989. The Act banned flag burning regardless of whether the person burning the flag intended to cause offense to
This amendment was fairly easy to add to the constitution, because most of the state constitutions had already install the amendment to their own (Wood). It was one of the short addressed problem other than the rights of protecting private property and quarters for soldiers during a war situation. The only argument against was by Anti-Federalist who wanted the ban of quartering completely. This argument was never acted on once the Bill of Rights was agreed on by the delegates (Morriss).
Can an individual be prosecuted for openly burning the American flag in a political protest? Gregory Johnson did this in a political protest outside Dallas City Hall. He was then tried and convicted of desecrating a venerated object under a Texas law (Penal Code 42.09), which states that "a person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly desecrates a state or national flag" (317). The question of whether this Texas law is in violation of the First Amendment, which "holds that Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech" (316), was brought before the United States Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson (1989). A divided court ruled 5 to 4 that the Texas law was in violation of the First Amendment. Using the same Constitution, precedents, and legal standards, the Supreme Court justices came to two drastically different positions regarding the constitutionality of prohibiting flag burning. To see how such a division is possible, we are going to compare and contrast both the arguments and the methods of argumentation used by both the majority opinion (written by Associate Justice Brennan) and the dissenting opinion (written by Chief Justice Rehnquist), which critiques the majority opinion.
The Confederate flag was used symbolically during the Civil War. To southerner’s, the flag represented a source of southern pride as well as a way of remembering the fallen Confederates. As the Civil War proceeded, the meaning of the flag began to change. Currently, the flag is being used as a symbol for racism. Due to this change in meaning, controversy over the flag has been exponentially growing. Although many would argue the original meaning behind the flag and that it is a symbol of historical culture that should not be forgotten, the flag should be banned due to its representation of racism and the seceding of the states.
There is much controversy surrounding the idea of patriotism and the iconography of the American flag in today’s society. Some believe patriotism is simply the act of supporting the decisions of the leaders of the country. Others say, to be patriotic, people should be outspoken and voice their oppositions to what is going on in the government. Opinions also differ on the idea of what the American flag represents. One opinion of the flags representation is that the flag represents our history, and the formerly mentioned idea of patriotism. Others believe the flag also represents our history as a nation, but these beliefs focus much more heavily on the negative aspects of our history; such as slavery and other injustices carried out by our nation. These people often believe we should find a new iconography for our country’s ideas of patriotism. As Barbara Kingsolver states in “And Our Flag Was Still There,” “Patriotism seems to be falling to whoever claims it loudest, and we’re left struggling to find a definition in a clamor of reaction” (Pg. 1). Therefore, every American’s duty is to define patriotism amongst the clamor of reaction, recapture the American flag’s representation, and create a new icon for the flag.
"Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus” by Derek Bok, published in Boston Globe in 1991, is an essay about what we should do when we are faced with expressions that are offensive to some people. The author discusses that although the First Amendment may protect our speech, but that does not mean it protects our speech if we use it immorally and inappropriately. The author claims that when people do things such as hanging the Confederate flag, “they would upset many fellow students and ignore the decent regard for the feelings of others” (70). The author discusses how this issue has approached Supreme Court and how the Supreme Court backs up the First Amendment and if it offends any groups, it does not affect the fact that everyone has his or her own freedom of speech. The author discusses how censorship may not be the way to go, because it might bring unwanted attention that would only make more devastating situations. The author believes the best solutions to these kind of situations would be to
The sixth amendment is indeed a right that carries tremendous importance with its name. It constitutes for many protections which Mallicoat (2016) summarizes by saying it “provides for the right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of one’s peers in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. Provides the right to be informed of the nature of the charges, to confront witnesses against oneself, and present witnesses in one’s defense. Provides the right to an attorney.” Having an impartial jury of one’s peers is extremely important in efforts to eliminate bias and a subjective, limited range of mindsets. If this cannot be obtained in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed, one may request trial to be held elsewhere, such as in the case
Though the Senate expects to vote on this amendment before the 105th Congress adjourns this fall, this is not the first time such a bill has been introduced to Congress. Nonetheless, this is the closest that it has ever come to actually passing through both Houses. The Citizens Flag Alliance recorded that the House passed the flag-protection resolution by a vote of 310-144 on June 12, 1997 (internet). It was then sent to the Senate in February for a vote. Is there a possibility such a bill could pass in the Senate? According to Daniel S. Webster, President of the Citizens Flag Alliance, as many as 64 Senators have already committed to voting "yes" for the amendment (internet). The Constitution states that only 67 votes are needed to propose the amendment to the state legislatures. If 38 state legislatures approve the proposed amendment, it will then ratify the Constitution (Wilson). According to the Citizens Flag Alliance, 49 states have already passed the resolution (internet). With such a close margin, those Senators who oppose the legislation need o...
What is the controversy with the flag burning right? Well flag burning, for most people, happens to be a huge issue seeing as though it is repulsive or anti abolitionist in a certain state of mind. These people constantly ask the question, can flag burning be punishable by law? Flag burning cannot be punishable by law, nor should it be, “no matter how uncomfortable they make others feel or how much people disagree the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed and reaffirmed that the right to desecrate the flag is included in the Constitution’s protection of speech (Flag).” Desecration and Flag Burning are forms of symbolic speech. What is symbolic speech? you may ask, well “symbolic speech is seen as a representation of one's beliefs or messages in the
Protesting can be harmful and create problems in the community. About two hundred or more protesters have been charged with more violent crimes than flag burning such as torching cars, broken windows and assaulting police officers. Although some believe flag burning should not be prohibited, other violent crimes from these protests indefinitely need to be stopped (Martelle). This issue of protesting divides the community and provides a conflict between people. Even though free speech proponents see the important symbolism
Flag burning can be and usually is a very controversial issue with people. Many people believe that the American flag stands for something important and shouldn’t be destroyed in that manner. Others believe that flag burning is a statement that one should be able to make without major repercussions. Both sides have valid opinions and both sides state their case well. Although I am neither nor or against the burning of the flag, I believe the right should not be taken away. I believe that if a group of people have valid reasons and a valid point to make by obliterating a flag in such a way, they should have the right to do it.
The Constitution or “the supreme law of the land”, as stated in article six in the constitution is very complex. It is complex not only in its actual text full of ambiguities and vagueness, but it becomes more complex when used in practice and interpreted. Constitutional interpretation is significant because it is what decides what the constitution actually means. Constitutional interpretation is a guide judges use to find the legal meaning of the constitution. The interpretation of the constitution and amendments can make a big impact on outcomes. In our government and Judiciary, we see commonly see originalism being used to interpret the constitution and amendments, but there