[June 21, 1989, decision 5-4]
In 1984 during the Republican National Convention in Texas, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag in front of Dallas City Hall, in protest of Reagan administration policies. No one was hurt, but some witnesses to the flag burning said they were extremely offended. One witness, Daniel E. Walker, received international attention when he collected the burned remains of the flag and buried them according to military protocol in his backyard. Johnson was convicted under the Texas law prohibiting flag desecration.
The Supreme Court reversed Johnson's conviction, stating “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”
The Court's decision invalidated laws in force in 48 of the 50 states [Alaska and Wyoming did not have such laws]. The issue remains controversial, with polls suggesting that a majority of Americans still supported a ban on flag-burning. Congress passed a statute, the 1989 Flag Protection Act, making it a federal crime to desecrate the flag. In 1990, the Supreme Court in case United States v. Eichman struck down that law by the same five person majority of justices as in Texas v. Johnson, in an opinion also written by Justice William Brennan. Since then, Congress has considered a Flag Desecration Amendment to the Constitution several times. The amendment usually passes the House of Representatives, but has always been defeated in the Senate. The most recent attempt occurred in 2006.
Did you guess right?
Here's Tuesday's hint - U is for United States. Can you guess the case and what it's about? Leave a comment!
Wow. I mean, it's important to be patriotic and to love your country, but there way more important things American lawmakers should be worried about than continually trying to push through a flag-burning law...
ReplyDeleteT - Toronto's Ill-Fated First Hanging
A lot of the interest is because the flag is the symbol of our country, and those in the military fight and die for it. So I can see why there's so much interest. But you're right, there seems to be so much else needing the time and energy.
DeleteI'm not sure who should be doing something more productive with their time - the lawmakers or the protestors. I'm all for free speech and action, but how is this actually helping?
ReplyDeleteBoth sides have valid points, and both sides see their time as productive. Which is why it's occasionally in the news. Not sure it's helping tho, you're right.
DeleteDo you know what the logic is behind the constant reversals? It feels like it has to be something more than just a freedom of expression thing. It feels like there's a fear of something there. Fear of making it mandatory, for example, for a person to have to salute the Nazi flag?
ReplyDeleteCalen~
Impromptu Promptlings
A to Z Challenge Letter T
There are a LOT of people who believe the flag is the symbol of our country and we should respect it, otherwise it's like treason. That's why the interest in a Constitutional Amendment.
Delete