With the economy “ailing,” the US facing terrorist threats and critical decisions on security versus liberty, and an impending war in Iraq (and beyond), what sorts of bills can you expect to see in the 108th Congress?
Why yet another try at a anti-flag-burning amendment.
The Congress shall have the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the Flag of the United States.
Yup. The greatest danger we face — the one that demands we actually amend the Constitution — is protesters in the US burning the flag. (Can’t do anything about those folks elsewhere doing it, I suppose, except bomb ’em.)
Volokh has a fine LA Times op-ed he wrote demonstrating why this is a bad idea.
To which I’ll add that the Republic has withstood any number of threats, up to and including Civil War, and there has not been a perceived need to actually amend the First Amendment. Are things so dire now, are the internal enemies of the state so great, the feelings of our American public so fragile, that we really need to go through with this sort of thing?
Never mind the dangers of giving Congress carte blanche to define what constitutes the flag, or what constitutes “physical desecration.” Would publishing a political cartoon that has the US flag associated with a dubious activity be considered physical desecration? Would people burning pieces of paper with the letters “USA” in red, white, and blue be subject to fine and/or imprisonment?
Pardon me, while I go off into the corner to mutter annoyedly.
I think if they actually do this, I will be compelled to burn one flag daily. What rot.
Why can’t they do something usefull, like actually balance the budget, or figure out how to get decent healthcare down to affordable rates?
Sigh.
Useful is hard. Jingoism is easy.
Thank you Randy. For the comment and the spellcheck (oops.)
I have never burned a flag. The day that flag burning becomes illegal, I will burn a flag in protest.