someone burns the american flag does the first amendment right "freedom of speech" protect this?

Answer 1

is the yahoo answers search function protected from you?

Answer 2

You are protected from prosecution, but not from upset people who may not take kindly to your actions. Flag desecration The divisive issue of flag desecration as a form of protest came before the Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989). The Supreme Court reversed the conviction of Gregory Lee Johnson for burning the flag by a 5-4 vote. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. asserted that "if there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable." Many members of Congress criticized the decision of the Court and the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the Court.[6] Congress passed a federal law barring flag burning, but the Supreme Court struck it down as well in United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990). Many attempts have been made to amend the Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit the desecration of the flag. Since 1995, the Flag Desecration Amendment has consistently mustered sufficient votes to pass in the House of Representatives, but not in the Senate. In 2000, the Senate voted 63–37 in favor of the amendment, which fell four votes short of the requisite two-thirds majority. In 2006, another attempt fell one vote short.

Answer 3

Yes, unless the someone burns the flag in a crowded theatre. Suppose that the flag is printed on the front page of a daily newspaper and visible when the someone sets fire to the newspaper. Should burning newspapers or magazines that have pictures of flags in them be illegal? If you draw a picture of a flag and set fire to the drawing, should this be illegal. If you put a stick on the drawing and call it a flag should the burning of the drawing+stick be illegal?
Aren't we really trying to discuss whether it should be illegal to be unpatriotic? But who decides what is patriotic? If Bush decides to put 20,000 troops in Iraq, is it unpatriotic to critize this act? What acts of Bush or of Congress should the public not be allowed to critize?
The problem with flag burning is that it is only a means of expression of someone's dissatisfaction with something and we really don't know what. But the fire itself generally is not putting people or things in danger. It is ideas which are dangerous, and we try to enforce our First Amendment rights to allow ideas to circulate freely, even if for some there only means of expression may be to burn a symbol such as a flag or a portrait of a disliked politician.

Answer 4

Yes it does. It may be disrespectful but still protected speech. Just dont expect me to see what happened to you if somehow you were hurt burning the flag..

Answer 5

Yes, under current legal interpretations.

The act of burning a flag -- any flag -- done to express a message is protected as a form of expression.

That is because the flag is a symbol -- and the govt cannot say that one message (displaying the symbol) is acceptable while another opposing message (burning the symbol) is not acceptable. The govt cannot choose between messages and say some are allowed and some are not.

The act of burning itself can be regulated -- but only by laws that would regulated any other burning of cloth or paper -- it cannot be regulated solely by what is portrayed on that cloth or paper.

Answer 6

Actually, burning the flag is one of the only acceptable ways of disposing of a tattered and worn flag. The flag should never touch the ground, should only be displayed at night with a light focused on it, and should only be displayed with the stars in the upper left corner.

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

yes and no.

yes if it is your own flag; and no if it is someone else's flag--it is then vandalism, or even arson.

if you don't like what someone is doing with what it represents; burning only helps them--metaphysically though, concentrate on taking it back, but not literally unless it is your own.

Answer 9

It may be.

A lot of offensive things are claimed to be protected as being "freedom of expression" The First Amendment says "Freedom of Speech", not expression.

Burning the flag (NOT an exercise Liberals are know for no matter how many idiots say so) may be some sort of expression, it is offensive to many, particularly those of us who have actually served under it. My personal feeling is that burning the flag is obscene (without redeeming social importance) just as using the Constitution for toilet paper is.

Burning the flag does fall under arson, air pollution and public endangerment statutes, or so I believe. Probably littering too. So counter with the nearest dire hose should be your acceptable response. Be sure to hose down the person who started the fire too, for their own protection.

Answer 10

The first amendment says nothing about freedom to express speech.
Someone put their on spin on that one.

Answer 11

Absolutely not. Speech is one thing, burning the flag is another. That is an action, not a word. It is illegal in us, and you could get into serious trouble. Freedom of speech whould be ifyou verbally said you wanted to do this. But actually acting on it and doing it, is not speech or words, that is action. One can't burn down the neighbors house because they dislike them, and say "oh, i was excercising my freedom of speech". if you got cought they may not beable to prosecute you for burning the flag, but i bet they'd hit you up with arson. I agree with the person about the water being her freedom of speech.