former president Ronald Reagan. One of protesters, known as Gregory Lee Johnson, set an American flag on flames in order to express his opinions. The Texas law enforcement arrested him due to the fact he broke a state law which prohibits the burning of the American flag. Johnson appealed and escalated the case up to the federal Supreme Court. In 1989, The Supreme Court decided that the burning of the American flag was an act of one’s freedom of speech and that it was supported by the Constitution. They
Burning the American Flag The American flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, with seven red stripes alternating among six white. In the upper left corner there is a rectangular blue space that contains fifty white stars. The thirteen stripes symbolize the thirteen original colonies of the United states of America and the stars represent the fifty states of the Union. White is said to symbolize purity and innocence. Red symbolizes strength and courage, and blue symbolizes vigilance, perseverance
Is Burning the American Flag Freedom of Speech? 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. Censorship has been a big topic in America since the birth of its modern government. There are things that go on around the world that the media would never
their American dream, but should the freedoms presented in the first amendment include the right to burn the American flag? The American flag is much more than a flag; it is a symbol of strength and the lives lost to get America to where it is today. Burning the flag should be excepted from the freedom of speech protections because it is not only disrespectful to those who have served, but it also causes violence when burned in public places. Every day soldiers risk their lives for the American flag
set fire to the American flag. Why would they do this? Why would they burn a symbol of the freedom they are using to demonstrate their frustrations? Burning the American flag is wrong not only legally but also ethically and therefore should not be protected under freedom of speech. When asked why, most protestors who want to burn the American flag respond with an answer such as “it’s our first amendment right.” Even though the U. S. Supreme court ruled that burning the American flag is protected under
beautiful flag. The people of this great nation who decide to set fire to Old Glory could face some major consequences. Some of these consequences may come in a variety of forms, such as fire hazards, riots, and sometimes even death. One of the main arguments against burning our great nation’s flag is that the people who have fought for the American flag and all that it stands for, tend to feel disrespected. The article Flag Burning Amendment states that “Burning the nation’s flag shows
Is burning the American flag freedoms for speech? The Supreme Court says that burning the American flag is a form of expression that's protected by the first amendment. Flag burning is something that needed to be protected. Congress passed the Flag Protection Act in 1989 that stated anyone who knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or templates upon a United States flag can be prosecuted. The Boston Tea Party carried a message and no one expected
California violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment by making it illegal to display red flags that suggested support of organizations that dissented organized government or favored anarchic action (Communism). This case was a significant landmark in constitutional law because of the Court’s use of the Fourteenth Amendment to protect a First Amendment right, symbolic speech, from state infringement. It impacted American society in a positive way because it expanded the freedoms in the First amendment and
Now that we have a better understanding of the definition, we can see how flag burning is protected by the First Amendment. I believe flag burning should be protected by the First Amendment because it does not cause any physical or psychological harm to another human. To better understand why I believe flag burning should be protected, we have to go back to when it first became a major topic of discussion in America. In 1984, Johnson participated in a political demonstration to protest the Reagan
The Flag-burning Debate Continues Nazis captured Jim Rogers. He was routinely beaten and given barely enough food to survive. During the time he spent in a World War II prisoner of war camp, he managed to keep his sanity by scraping together bits and pieces of colored cloth in order to make an American flag. As his fellow prisoners began to die, it was his American flag which provided him with a sense of identity and gave him the inspiration to keep living. It is no wonder, then