Do you believe flag burning should be protected by the constitution?

Question

I'm not asking if you think it's the right thing to do and I'm not saying you should go burn a flag.
But do you think it should be a protected right?

My thoughts: Flag burning is an expression that is protected by our right to free speech. The fairness doctrine is a useful tool because these days there are so many talk show hosts who tout themselves as reporting the news, and their are many people out there that believe whatever they say. It's nothing more than propaganda. And isn't that what middle eastern "news organizations" do? They should not be allowed to slander organizations and people without giving those people a chance to defend themselves. Now if Bill O'Rilley and Rush Limbaugh want to spout off at the mouth...that's fine....but they shouldn't be allowed to call it "news".

Answer 1

According the Supreme Court, flag burning is already protected by the First Amendment. The talk is to amend the Constitution to ban it. I am against this. The Constitution was not created, nor should it be used to restrict any rights or freedoms that we have.

This does not mean I'm going out this weekend and burning the flag in protest. I respect the flag too much for that. But, a large part of that respect is what it stands for, which is the freedoms we have. I served 6 years in the military defending those freedoms, and although I'm against flag burning itself, I am all for the freedom that others have to burn the flag in protest.

Answer 2

This question should be handled from multiple angles.
1. Flag burning is protected speech. Both as freedom of speech and as a form of protest against your own government.
2. Support for This form of protest does NOT mean you sopport the act itself.
3. The talking point for an ammendment protecting the flag is a straw man agruement. Think back. When was the last time you remember seeing a current news article involving an actual flag burning. There are, on average 5 recorded flag burning in this country in a year. Five. It rarely makes the national news. I last remember seeing one on the news during Vietnam.
4. I feel the constitution is much mure endangered at this time from forces both on the right and left.
5. If they want to "protect the flag" how about these?
http://www.metaphoria.us/FlagPatriotism/FlagshirtBenn.jpg
http://images.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_SM/0027-0402-0308-1115_SM.jpg

Answer 3

I agree that you should be allowed to burn the flag. It is free speech and it is pretty potent speech. That is the kind of free speech that the creaters of the constitution particularly wanted to protect the most. I say do it as long as it is your flag (or one you have permission to burn) and it is done with safety for yourself and others in mind.

If you don't want to chance hurting someone or breaking laws about fire, you can always take a flag out in public and paint it black, tear it to shreds, rub mud all over it, or even eat it. There are all sorts of ways to protest using the flag without burning it.

One more note, your idea of a group of people not being allowed to call their broadcasts "news" can backfire on you. Who would be the people who decide what is propaganda and what is news? Whoever those people would be would become some of the most powerful people in the US. They would be able to shape public opinion by making only their official message "news" and all others as propaganda. What if that group of people agreed with Rush and labeled his show news and decided that all else was propaganda. No, I do not support limiting what can be called news in this fashion.

Answer 4

If you are going to talk about news being propaganda, don't just pile on the conservative talk shows. The major networks are decidedly liberal. As far as slander, liberals are very adept at laying out the insults and slanderous comments as well. This is the problem with our country right now: people, like you, are caught up in finding out the faults of one party over the other, instead of both parties working together to find viable solutions to the issues that trouble America. Instead there are people, like you, who would rather start a political debate over the relatively non-existent problem of flag burning. It is time for Democrats and Republicans to grow up and stop bickering like third graders on a playground.

Answer 5

A Free Speech argument will not be very effective because tiny minds cannot grasp the concept of symbolic expression. If it's not vocalization it's not Speech. Plus, they cannot grasp the idea that all speech is protected (except libel or shouting fire), even speech that is unpopular. Popular speech needs no protection!

argue on the basis of Property Rights: If I buy a flag, it's my property and I can do what I want with it. If I cannot, then it has been nationalized, and the government owes me compensation.

Answer 6

I dont have self assurance it is. i take advantage of a rule to ensure such issues-Did the framers and Founding fathers intend for the form to cover such issues. I dont think of a guy or woman can particularly assert that they seen flag burning to be desirable or legal. it is like abortion, NO the place in the form can any non ideologically pushed guy or woman discover something that could properly be remotely claimed to cover abortion. on the different hand, the reality that it ISNT in there capacity that the federal government DOESNT have a marvelous to regulate it- the form lays out what the fed can do and in spite of ISNT pronounced is for the states or people. In my state they used a clause in the state shape that deals in certainty disallows the creation of a monarchy to validate Civil Unions- all of us who reads the clause understands of precisely what it capacity and it has not something to do with marriage. i'm not expressing help or condemnation of any of the failings i discussed yet extremely am noting that all of us is too prepared to alter what the form(s) say inorder to augment an ideological schedule and that's faulty. We have been left and modification technique to make alterations and that's how we could constantly make alterations not basically make up issues

Answer 7

Only a protected right if you plan on leaving the country.
My thoughts: If someone has the right to burn the flag and it is protected under the right to free speech, then the right to say a racially motivated slurr and offend someone because of their color- is a protected right.
Why the heck would it be okay and a protected right to slander an American citizen by burning their flag ?

Answer 8

Yes of course it should be allowed. Free speech works in two ways - you can make whatever protest you want, and I am free to support your cause or be thoroughly disgusted by your behavior. Either way, we are both free to act according to our conscience, moral code, and beliefs. That's what makes our nation great.

Free speech that everyone likes is not the issue; we must protect free speech so that people can say unpopular things without fear of prosecution.

Banning flag burning is unconstitutional, and un-American.

Answer 9

Using a flag is a protected form of political expression, whether one is being waved or burned.

The overt conditioning of specific responses within this country is another matter. Behavior modification techniques work well in various types of animal training, from dogs through humans. The collusion taking place between government and media is cause for enormous concern, especially, if one's sole exposure is Fox or CNN or ...
http://stopbigmedia.com/

There are other sources for information. It is not easy, if you want to know more, you have to search. There is a cable station called LinkTV which shows, DemocracyNow! with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The programming is outstanding.
http://linktv.org/

Answer 10

First of all, thanks for using spellcheck or being articulate--which ever applies. I don't like burning the flag, but it is a form of dissent and is an expression of political beliefs and should continued to be protected by the 1st Amendment. If we stifle dissent, we have destroyed the most basic tenet of free speech and democracy. It is a form of political speech, which must be (and is) the most protected speech. The flag is more than a piece of cloth to me, but my freedom is not threatened by someone burning it. My freedom is threatened by a prohibition against burning the flag.