Argumentative Essay: Should Flag Burning Be Illegal

In 1969, the Supreme Court of the United States (U.S. Supreme Court) put forth rules allowing the burning of the flag to be protected under the First Amendment. The U. S. Supreme Court first ruled on flag discretion in 1907 in the Halter v. Nebraska case. Prior to this ruling flag discretion statues strictly prohibited the burning of the American flag , as well as, disrespecting the flag in any way shape or form. In 1968, Congress reacted to the burning of the American flag in New York during a protest against the Vietnam War by passing the Federal Flag Desecration Law. In a few court cases it has been declared that burning the American flag is only illegal if the flag has been stolen. When a flag is worn/torn the proper way of disposing of the flag is to burn it; however, when disposing of a flag by burning it there are steps that should be followed in order to do so honorably. The flag should be folded in its customary manner and then placed on a fire that is fairly large with sufficient intensity to ensure complete burning of the flag. After placing the flag on the fire all individuals should come to attention, salute the flag while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and observing a brief moment of silence. Once the flag has been completely consumed the fire should be safely extinguished and the ashes should be buried. Congress has made seven attempts to overrule the Supreme Court decision regarding the burning of the American flag by passing a constitutional amendment that had an exception to the First Amendment and allowed the government to ban flag desecration. (Thelawdictionary.org,

Flag Burning can be and usually is a very controversial issue. Many people are offended by the thought of destroying this country's symbol of liberty and freedom. During a political protest during the 1984 Republican Convention, Gregory Lee Johnson was arrested for burning an American flag. Years later in 1989, Johnson got the decision overturned by the United States Supreme Court. In the same year, the state of Texas passed the Flag Protection Act, which prohibited any form of desecration against the American flag. This act provoked many people to protest and burn flags anyway. Two protestors, Shawn Eichman and Mark Haggerty were charged with violating the law and arrested. Both Eichman and Haggerty appealed the

Obviously flag burning is a fire hazard that can have a very harmful outcome to the environment and all of its surroundings. Another argument that is stated in the E.M.S.A. says “Many materials in clothing can burn” (E.M.S.A). “Consider

As to whether the first amendment, from the very constitution that was made to protect freedom of expression, should protect flag burning. Flag burning has been a way in which people have been able to symbolize their feelings towards a certain event or topic. This use of symbolism should be protected by the first amendment, because it is a form of expression, which the first amendment protects, and the American people are not affected by this in a way that will harm them.

Through the years of America, there have been multiple accounts of flag desecration. Flag desecration is a term that is used to describe a various set of acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public, and in this case, the American flag. Citizen’s typically doing this treasonous act when they want to make a political point against their country or policies in the country or another country. Some of these actions include: burning it, urinating or defecating on it, defacing it with slogans, stepping upon it, damaging it with stones or guns, cutting or ripping it, verbally insulting it, or dragging it on the ground. A few countries have laws that forbid the methods or just uses of this

The First Amendment says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. This freedom of speech clause as included in the First Amendment guarantees the citizens of America to express information and ideas freely. But is all form of speech free? On the most basic level, this clause allows for the expression of an opinion or idea without the fear of censorship by the government. It protects all forms of communication, with limits so you cannot always say anything you want, wherever you want, or whenever you want. Fighting words are not protected under the First Amendment, for instance, as are obscene expressions.

Lately, if you turn on the news, the media headlines are covered with the news of protests. These protests include marches, kneeling, and in some cases, even rioting and fighting. However, one from of protesting stands out the most: burning of the United States flag. Recently, protestors have burned the flag to protest the president and the police. Burning the flag is not something new to this country, however. There are many recorded instances of the American flag being burned as a form of speech; especially during the Vietnam War period. I, on the other hand, strongly believe that burning the American flag is wrong. It much more than just a piece of cloth, it is a scared symbol of our country. In order to stop the mutilation of the symbols of our country, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution. The amendment that I am proposing will empower Congress to utilize their powers to implement restrictions on mistreatment of iconic American symbols.

The United States is well-known for its principles of freedom and democracy, which is demonstrated through the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. Thus, American citizens can openly discuss political matters; criticize the President and his Cabinet on television, radio talk show or in the newspaper; or publicly protest against the government tax policy. However, Free Speech protection becomes debatable when some American citizens burn the nation’s flag to express their disagreement to the government. The act of burning the American Flag should be constitutionally protected under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause because the act is a symbolic expression that communicates an individual’s idea or opinion about his nation; and that

Many people believe that the American flag represents the pride they have in their country. Anyone who was to damage the flag is often seen as “un-patriotic” or even as a “terrorist”. That, however, is simply untrue. Burning the American flag is one of the greatest patriotic acts a person can do.

In the text, “American Flag Stands for Tolerance”, people appear to show strong emotions and opinions about burning a flag. Most would say that it is patriotic that Mr. Johnson starts to burn a flag to express his feeling of disagreement, while others say that it is wrong and deserves punishment. We are all entitled to our own opinions, as Ronald J. Allen states in a newspaper

Currently in the US, burning the flag is legal, as per the Supreme Court Case Texas v Johnson. In their ruling, the Supreme Court stated that burning the flag was an exercise of the first amendment right to freedom of speech, and therefore could not be banned. This caused much controversy, and several attempts were made by the President and Congress to ban flag during, however, each attempt was overruled by the Supreme Court. Supporters of flag burning say it is a form of expression, and therefore shouldn 't be banned as it doesn 't bring harm or threaten harm to anyone. This that disagree say that since the Flag represents America and its ideals, burning it is a direct attack on all our country holds sacred. Despite the controversy, and attempts to outlaw it, burning the flag is still legal today throughout the country.

The burning or desecration of the American Flag may fall under both freedoms. When one thinks of the flag, they usually think of the blood that was shed for this country. It was shed so that we could have liberties, such as, freedom of speech and expression, which fall under the First Amendment rights of the Constitution. However, when you think of a burning flag, what comes to mind? One might say it shows disrespect and hatred to a country that has given so much. In the case of Texas v. Johnson, Johnson was accused of desecrating a sacred object, but, his actions were protected by the First Amendment. Although his actions may have been offensive, he did not utter fighting words. As stated in Source D “Justice William Brennan wrote the 5-4 majority decision in holding that the defendant’s act of flag burning was protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.” By burning the flag, Johnson did not infringe upon another's natural human rights. He was simply expressing his outrage towards the government, which is within the jurisdiction of the First Amendment. Another court case, where the 5-4 majority ruled in favor of the defendant was United States v. Eichman in 1980, a year after the Johnson case. “In the case of United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990), the law was struck down by the same five person majority of justices as in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989).” [Source D] Multiple times in flag burning cases,

“The US flag is a symbol of great pride” (Hills 2016). Ethan D. Hill from the University of Georgia states this, just as all Americans should know this. The American flag is a representation for the strength and power of this country and all that it has gone through. With that being said, not everyone sees the American flag in this way. Some take it upon themselves to show firsthand disrespect to the flag in desecrating it. Desecration is the act of burning something, in this case it is burning the flag that symbolizes the freedom of this great nation. It is obvious to most that this act should be illegal, seeing as there is no reason good enough to hurt the country in this way; however, some Americans believe otherwise.

Flag burners tend to burn the flag because they are angry for many different reasons. One reason they do it is because they express their grief over the violent deaths being suffered in this country. People get offended because they pay attention to the “White on Black crime.” That is when the “Black lives matter” chaos came into place. It is coincidental that the cops happen to be white and the people getting hurt or even killed by the cops are african american. If a cop tells you an order, you must follow it even if you do not agree. If you don’t follow a cops order, that gives the cop the right to give consequences. Another way flag burning can cause violence is that it can cause damage to public places. It can cause damage by the angry people setting objects on fire, fighting one another, tearing up cars and buildings, etc. To stop the rioting, we all need to come together as a nation instead of harming one another and be civil people. Just because everybody see’s different perspectives doesn’t mean we all aren’t the same, we are all human and need to stop killing each other because we believe

Throughout history, Americans have fought hard to gain independence and the freedoms that come with it. However, some choose to test the limitations of those freedoms. For some time, Americans have shown their disgust of the American government by burning flags, and even cutting them up to use as clothing. Although mocking the American government and the flag is disrespectful, revoking the right to do so would be a violation of freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment. Those who support the no-flag burning amendment argue that the United States flag is a special case. Because it would undermine the constitution and set a dangerous precedent that will make it easier for others enact restrictive amendments to the