Burn Baby Burn

Will there a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution in the offing? Possibly. The subject matter: The United States Flag - and a prohibition against certain kinds of flag burning.

The proposed text of this amendment:

`The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.'.

The Senate is one vote away from having the requisite number of votes (67) to send the resolution to the states for ratification after the House has already passed the resolution. Amendments to the US Constitution require that 2/3 majority pass the bill in each house of Congress followed by ratification by 3/4 of the states (38 of 50).

So, where do I stand on this? Simple. I think it's a bad idea.

You have the freedom of speech - which includes the right to make a complete and total ass of yourself.

You also open yourself up to withering criticism for such speech because that's part of the freedom of speech the rest of us have.

This amendment may help people feel better that a symbol of this country are better protected, but in reality, it will do little to actually protect the flag. However, protecting the flag isn't the only purpose of this amendment. It's to thwart courts from interjecting their opinion on the matter - effectively taking the whole subject matter out of realm of the courts, which have ruled that flag burning is permissible when the burning is done by the owner of the flag. Such an amendment would effectively render those decisions moot.

Federal law provides the proper manner for displaying and caring for the US Flag. 4 USC 1 et seq.