22nd Annual Bill of Rights
Art and Essay Contest, 2005-2006

TOPIC:  Should the Constitution be amended
so that Congress can ban flag desecration?

1st Prize, Middle School

by an 8th-grade Pacific Grove Middle School student

ACLU Essay

People think of flag desecration as just about the most offensive form of protest possible. When you burn of desecrate a U.S. flag, you are expression the utmost disapproval possible against the government or its policies. So it is fitting that the ACLU has posed the question: Should the Constitution of the U.S. be amended to allow Congress to prohibit desecration of the United States flag.

As long as there has been an American flag, people have desecrated it in protest against the actions or policies of the government. The majority of citizens have been outraged by desecration when it has occurred. Despite the outrage, flag desecration punishment never existed until 1969 when a World War II veteran burned a United States flag in protest to a civil rights movement. The Supreme Court overturned his conviction, but the decision led to the passage of the Flag Protection Act in 1989, punishing anyone who "knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any U.S. flag." However, in U.S. vs. Eichmann 496 U.S. 310 1990 the Supreme Court invalidated the Flag Protection Act because they said it violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Since then, there have been many proposals to amend the Constitution to allow Congress to ban flag desecration. Congress is currently considering one such proposal. TO have this pass and become part on the Constitution, they must have a two-thirds majority supporting the amendment from those present in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and three-quarters of the states to ratify that amendment.

While I personally oppose the desecration of the flag, I stand firmly against amending the Constitution. To stand on any other side would be going against the First Amendment, which clearly states that you have the right to freedom of speech, and this right cannot be abridged by the government. The purpose of this right is to allow people to say whatever they want, no matter how vile and no matter how disliked this person's opinion may be. In fact, what makes America so strong is its tolerance of a wide diversity of opinions. Many people believe that if you tolerate everything, your government will collapse. It is in fact the exact opposite; the more tolerant the country, the stronger it will be.

Another reason I oppose an amendment is the fact that if we chisel out one exception to freedom of speech, where will it stop? Will Congress later want to outlaws protests against the President or newspaper articles criticizing the government? A further concern with this amendment would be the difficulty determining what is meant by the words "flag" and "desecration." People who consider themselves patriotic often have little flags attached to their cars. Would it be considered desecration if the flag fell off and another car ran over it? Would it be considered desecration to have a flag painted on the ground inside a building or outdoors? For example, would U.S. Airways, whose logo includes an American flag, be guilty of desecration for having a carpet with the logo on it in the line for an airport check-in counter where hundreds of people walk over the flag every day?

In closing , I believe an amendment to the Constitution to ban flag desecration would be abridging the rights in the First Amendment, and this would be a mistake that goes against what America stands for. America has always stood for protecting the rights of all people, including those who are the least popular. Even though desecrating an American flag is a terrible act, it is an act that has been protected by the First Amendment for over 200 years and should remain so in the future.