Ever since the first incident of flag burning occurred in the United States, it has been heavily debated whether or not one has the right to desecrate the country’s stars and stripes. Today, it is within the law to burn the flag as a form of expression. It has not always been that way. Once the Vietnam War started, many people protesting the war demonstrated their hatred for the country’s actions by burning the national flag. This led to the action becoming a federal offense, anyone committing such crimes subject to penalty (Whitman). This law changed, however, as late in the 1900 's, a man named Gregory Lee Johnson was convicted for burning the flag during a Republican Convention. Although he was initially convicted, the Supreme Court later
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This freedom of expression has been tried on multiple occasions, but has failed to change the court’s decision. The Supreme Court held that the defense of the flag being a symbol for unity relates to the suppression of expression (Texas v. Johnson). According to the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, the same issue was argued in a different court case, United States vs. Eichman. The Supreme Court reviewed a decision made by Congress to prohibit the burning of flags, determining that this is unconstitutional as one cannot be punished solely because his or her thoughts are offensive (ACLU). Not all war veterans believe an amendment should be passed, either. When Congress was attempting to get a two-thirds majority vote for passing the amendment, two war veterans, John Glenn of Ohio, and Bob Kerrey, a Medal of Honor recipient, rejected the amendment. They stated that flag burners are no threat to the "fabric of America" (Pierce). This explains that not all war veterans believe that the flag should be protected by law, as they believe that the flag burners are irrelevant to the significance of the flag and pose no
This freedom of expression has been tried on multiple occasions, but has failed to change the court’s decision. The Supreme Court held that the defense of the flag being a symbol for unity relates to the suppression of expression (Texas v. Johnson). According to the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, the same issue was argued in a different court case, United States vs. Eichman. The Supreme Court reviewed a decision made by Congress to prohibit the burning of flags, determining that this is unconstitutional as one cannot be punished solely because his or her thoughts are offensive (ACLU). Not all war veterans believe an amendment should be passed, either. When Congress was attempting to get a two-thirds majority vote for passing the amendment, two war veterans, John Glenn of Ohio, and Bob Kerrey, a Medal of Honor recipient, rejected the amendment. They stated that flag burners are no threat to the "fabric of America" (Pierce). This explains that not all war veterans believe that the flag should be protected by law, as they believe that the flag burners are irrelevant to the significance of the flag and pose no