The Flag Burning Amendment

The House votes today on a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban desecration of the flag. The issue has come up in Congress on a regular basis ever since the Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag is a constitutionally protected form of free speech. Supporters of the amendment, like Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey, say that "to burn a flag is to disrespect America..." While the proposed amendment has always passed the House, it has never gotten the two-thirds vote needed to get through the Senate.

The basic fact is that the only place and time in history where laws like this were state sponsored were in fascist, totalitarian, and dictatorial regimes like Nazi Germany and Communist Russia where it was illegal to burn the swastika or hammer and sickle flag. How can we claim to have a free society if this law comes into pass?