Should flag burning be illegal?

I don't think it should be illegal.

Honestly?

Because I think it's a waste of time to go after these people when there are other people more worth arresting.

I am rather opposed to a fair amount of what the US is up to today, but I don't think if I burned a flag it would help one bit. But neither do I think it is worth arresting anyone unless they put people in danger...

If they are going to ban flag burning then they should ban cross burning too. Both are equally offencive, one with more stigma then the other. Some one in congress should add crossburning to the amendment.

To pass a amendment today is extremely difficult. I don't see it passing. I don't think most people find it as a major concern, and it would be placed on the ballot in "mid-term" (no national races taking place). With voter turn out so low (about 48% of the country is registered), I don't see it bring people to register, or to get out and vote. (Of course I could get into why if we change how we calculate voter trun out that number would be a lot biger, but I'm not going to get into that). I think most people feel that there are more pressing issues congress should be addressing. Burning a flag that is truly nothing more then a a piece of cloth connected to a pole or stick does not hurt anyone, except the person burning it.

Personally I find the concept of burning a flag stupid. There are more constructive ways of showing your discontent for the government.

Although I consider burning a flag, esp. ours, abhorrable, I do think that this amendment would be impinging on our American rights. I grew up with kids who were Jehovah's Witnesses, and their religion prohibited them from saluting the flag, and I understood & accepted that. In fact, as our teachers told us during a "cat-fight" about that very issue, we were witnessing, first-hand, freedom in action. And isn't being free what being American is all about?

Ok. Regardless of your thoughts on the flag - just use existing laws. Illegally having an open fire, burning without a permit.... Seems to me that improper burning would be a public safety hazard. We do not discriminate on what you burn, just where, when, how, you burn.

"No person shall burn any material without first meeting the open burnng requirements hereinafter stated:
1. Where its ok
2. When its ok
3. How many gallons of water or fire extinguishers need to be present

Exempt single matches, lighters, tiki torches, and villagers burning down Frankenstein's castle...."

I may not like what you say, but I will die for your right to say it.

I love my country, my flag and do not approve of the practice. That is my opinion. I will voice it and defend it as MY opinion. Constitutional amendment? Hmmm, next year saying that the social security private accounts are a bad idea in public could be on the list of non-approved expression. This is not just a bad undercurrent, its a whirlpool that could suck down the largest ship....

My gut reaction is: Don't our lawmakers have more important things to focus on?

I doubt any laws or ammendments about burning the USA flag would help. People break laws EVERY SINGLE DAY, get by with it, keep on breaking laws, get by with it again... way worse things, too, than burning a flag.

I cannot stand to see the US flag burning. As said above --- abhorrent. Horrible.

If you don't like the USA, then freaking leave!!!!!

I'm sorry guys, but "just leave" doesn't work for me. It sounds as though there is a line somewhere that people can just walk across and all will be well.

It takes money, time and another country to move to in order to leave.

Many people do not have the above. Many countries don't just let you decide to take up residence whenever you want.

So it's not that simple.

I still maintain that burning a flag will not help ppl either.

You're right! Hey, I "left", for personal reasons, half a lifetime ago. And I'm still, and probably always will be, a U.S. citizen, and keep up on what's going on in my country of birth.

As far as I am concerned, the government took away freedom of speech by not allowing prayer in schools by INDIVIDUALS.
This government was founded on the basis of religion and the right to worship as one pleased.
I find it sad.

I just don't see what's so evil about burning a piece of fabric. Sure, it can be offensive if you know hate is behind it, but really, is it worth putting someone in jail because they burned a blue-red-and-white flag? If it's their own flag, who cares? If it's someone else's flag, that someone else can charge the offender for destroying stolen property, and then go out and buy a new flag.

Yes, it should be illegal to burn the flag, because it makes so many people feel bad, and there is already ample precedence for there being legal punishments to anyone who make people feel bad, and in any number of ways, all the way from hitting them in the head with a hammer to slander and libel, which, like the flag burning, have no direct physical connection with the person who is being wronged by the subject act.

To have a law against one kind of action that "hurts" or "harms" persons and to ignore other actions that "hurt" or "harm" is hypocritical at best and at worst detrimental to the old thought that originated with Blackstone, I think, of " . . . there can be no wrong without a remedy . . ."

Leonard

Umm...aren't you supposed to burn a flag when it is no longer fit for flying? I think I read that somewhere, that burning is the proper dissposal of the retired flag.

The only reason I bring this up is, if they make it illegal to burn a flag in protest how soon before some poor guy gets made an example of because he disposed of his flag in the proper way but someone else didn't agree it was ready for retirement?

In addition to that, flag buring while offensive is at least a peaceful way of protesting. Sorry I'd rather have someone buring the flag or even a cross in protest rather than buring a person or animal or something. There has to be an outlet somewhere.

And it is part of freedom of expression. Sorry I have strong feelings about keeping the rights our country was founded on just the way they are. Freedom of expression and freedom of speech are powerful rights and it distrubes me that people are so willing have these rights chipped away at. Where will it stop, hey let's make flag burning illegal; then what's next? It's a slippery slope and sadly I don't trust our politicans to not slide down it.

However what one person believes is correct and ceremonial and what another person believes is correct and ceremonial are two different things. Heck as Americans we can even agree on which is better Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi.

I think that its true,..if you hate the us so much than leave..we dont want you hear anyways..

But of course one of the beautys of the us...is that we do have freedom to express ourselves..

however..i think burning our national flag should be outlawed.

Many people turn their flags in to the American Legion if they need to be disposed of.
I believe people that want to should be allowed to burn flags, as long as they dip them in kerosene and wrap them snugly around their stupid heads!

I literally grew up with the Viet Nam "conflict", and remember when the question of flag burning was brought up during Bush Sr.'s administration. My interpretation is that this is just a ruse to distract people from the problems the U.S. military is facing in Iraq and Afghanistan. I seriously think our elected representatives could find more serious issues to tackle!

I'm not american. I'm a british citizen but i don't think it would bother me if i saw someone burning the union jack. It just seems like such a hard thing to police... You can't burn a flag but can you burn a picture of a flag? or a poster of a flag? or a wooden post painted to look like a flag? Or a piece of cloth that resembles a flag? or a t-shirt with a flag on it? how do you draw the line? and what happens if someone burns a flag in the privacy of their own back yard... can they really be stopped? It seems like such an odd thing to be making laws about. If it were a plain and simple issue of fire safety that'd make it much easier to make sense of...

I was thinking along similar lines as I began reading this thread.

Though I don't really care what others do with our national flag, and would agree there are more important issues for lawmakers to mull over, I personally would not burn such a powerful symbol of patriotism as the maple leaf.

Same goes for me with the Maple Leaf. I would never burn our flag because a) I have no reason to and b) what is seriously the point?!

There are better and more mature ways to show your feelings than to burn a flag. Why not vote? Of course it may not turn out the way you wanted, but there are much worse off places to be in the world than the USA/Canada/Great Britain (to name a few).

If anyone really wants to act like an idiot and burn flags, let them, that's the beauty of a democracy, people have the right to make themselves look stupid

There are much more important things to worry about~

People burn flags because they are a symbol of something they hate. If someone cannot burn/flourish a symbol then there is no democracy, but the problem is that most US flag burners confuse the American State with the American Government - understandable for many foreigners but not for natives. If it were made illegal they would burn something else - pictures of George Bush? - at least then they would be attacking what is probably the root of the problem as they see it. I agree with Traci that it is better they should burn inanimate symbols than real people, like we saw in the Deep South years ago, or in South Africa with the tyre necklace burnings during the uprisings.

The bottom line truth is, the flag is burned in a juvenile attempt to get attention, much the same as a child will say "s**t" in order to get people to look at him.

That the flag has been defended with lives and spilled blood means nothing to the person, who, as Ronald Reagan said, " . . .looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane, smells like Cheetah, carries a sign that says 'make love, not war', and is incapable of doing either . . .".

Our friends in the UK must (should) remember that our country is new, and our freedoms were not won easily, and the flag is very much a revered symbol to those who chose to fight for what the flag represents, and it is for that very reason that the puling gutterpups like to desecrate it in an attempt to rile the very ones who won them their freedom to do such a despicable thing, and in doing so gain the attention they desire.

Have a nice July 4th.

Leonard

I don't know that I have ever seen "puling gutterpups"...what are they?

Thank you Mark...I agree.

I don't mean to be scandulous but I think it is totally wrong to have the idea of "if you hate the country enough to burn a flag, then get out". What? Why? Because not everyone agrees with everything that our country does? And they choose to protest and burn a flag? So what? Is saying that those people need to leave the country really the right mindset to have? Do we really want to teach our children that if you don't completely agree with us, then you have to get out of our country? Even if that person is just as equally a U.S. citizen as you and me? And even though the First Ammendment protects the right to Freedom of Speech? I don't think so.

It a person/group of protesters burn a flag, it is their right to do so. The First Ammendment protects that right. When someone burns a flag it is because the flag is the most reconizable symbol of America and what we stand for as a country. Millions of Americans have faught and died to protect that flag and what it stands for. But the flag isn't just something for soldiers, it is for regular U.S. citizens too. At times citizens feel disappointed or angered in the policies or actions of their govenment officials. In times where citizens have felt strongly enough about their position they have burned flags to show their anger. And to show their disapproval of the people who are suppose to represent them. I think that people chose to burn the flag, because they have lost hope in the system.


In my opinion, if we take away the right to burn the flag then we under-mind the whole concept of what the flag is supposed to stand for.

yeah bear cat and mark kumpf really hit the nail on the flag... i mean the head

To me, banning it would conflict with the First Amendment. I don't hear of much flag burning in the U.S. It seems to be more of an issure outside of the U.S. borders with others burning our flag. We have no control over that. How about Congress spending less time on this crap and more time on things like say the Iraqi insurgency?