Unfortunately, I agree. And Jerry Solomon, who wanted this, was one of my dad's best friends.
I think this is absolutely the most worthless, feel-good, patronizing ploy a crippled legislature can use to mask their impotence. It’s like a shinny medallion they’ve been holding it in their back pockets to distract the reactionaries in case of emergency right before elections. “We’ll they fumbled on school choice, borders, social security, energy, education, but ooooooow… shinny flag burning amendment…. Yes, I luv my congressmen….”
No thank you. If someone loses their mind to risk politically irrelevancy by burning a flag, let them. Our First Amendment rights give us the power to crush their ideas. Bring it on!
The men and women who died did so protecting the right to burn the flag.
It saddens me to see that there are Americans who are constitutionally unaware or misinformed. It saddens me to realize that there are Americans who can be persuaded into using the Constitution to grant congress an additional power to prohibit the people.
Consider all aspects of a flag-burning event. First of all, they cannot burn my flag or your flag without existing consequences in law against destroying the property of another. Second, they cannot burn their flag in a public place without consequences in law against creating a public hazard. Thirdly, virtually all states already have a law against desecration of the flag.
I want to know that people who do not burn their nation’s flag do not burn it because they do not want to burn it and not because it is unlawful to do so. I also want those who do want to burn their nation’s flag to do so out in the open where I can observe it and without fear of breaking a law.
I can only respectfully ask that you consider my observations in light of the Constitution’s purpose, which is solely about government and not about prohibiting the people.
It would be a change in the principle behind the Constitution. Rather than a limitation on government, it would be a prohibition against the subjects. Of course, such an amendment would promote objects to be of more importance than the ideas they may stand for; maybe that's what proponents seek.
Rather than wasting time and human emotion on silly populist ideas like flag buring amendments, why don't we do something that will have real impact like buiding a wall from San Diego to Brownsville and amending the 14th Amendment to eliminate anchor babies.
That said I do not support an amendment, though I am willing to risk jail to stop a flag burning.