This Date in History: Flag Burning

June 21, 1989: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that flag-burning is a right protected by the First Amendment. The justices ruled 5 to 4 against Texas and in favor of Johnson, because the law included the provision that the desecration be illegal if "the actor knows [that the desecration] will seriously offend one or more persons." The court found that the state's attempt to preserve the symbol was intimately tied up with an attempt to suppress certain messages. President Bush asked for a constitutional amendment banning flag-burning, but the Senate would ultimately reject it.

 

Flag Burning, Desecration and Politics:

• Overview of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Desecration, Burning
• Index of State Laws on Flag Abuse, Desecration, Burning
• Is Flag Burning a Real Problem?
• American Flag Timeline: Flag Desecration, Flag Burning, Pledge of Allegiance
• Playing Politics with the American Flag
• Flag Desecration: The Issue is Not the Issue
• Banning Flag Desecration: It's Just the Beginning
• Flag Fetishism and the Cult of the Flag