Today in the closest of votes the senate decided not to ammend the constitution to pohibit flag burning. I feel very srongly about this amendment. In a nation that is so blessed to protect the liberty of individuals it would be very dangerous to add such a rule into our fundamental law. I would never burn the flag, but I would be unhappy living in a country where people could not burn flags. We are so blessed to be able to petition our government for a redress of grievances. While very disrespectful, flag desecration is a form of speech. Amending our constitution to void a certain area of free speech is a dangerous move. Where would protection of the flag stop? Could one be violating fundamental law if he or she desecrated other symbols of the United States? Our courts have proved to have interesting interpretations of various laws.
This amendment was proposed by my very own Senator, Orrin Hatch. I was extremely happy to see that my other Senator, Bob Bennett stood up to the challenge and protected my liberties. We should always be careful when changing our fundamental law, and we should only do so in times of great need. Flag protection does not meet this high standard.
