Flag Burning and Flag Desecration:
Flag burning, or any other physical desecration of the American flag, is an issue that sparks strong emotions. Some — mostly Republicans, but also some Democrats — regard burning the American flag as a form of blasphemy. It is a sin against "civil religion" in America, not unlike a sin against an established church. Attempts to ban flag desecration by statute have repeatedly failed, so now people seek to ban it by passing a constitutional amendment.
Supreme Court Cases on Flag Burning, Desecration:
- Halter v Nebraska (1907)
- Stromberg v. California (1931)
- Street v. New York (1969)
- Schacht v. United States (1970)
- Smith v Goguen (1974)
- Spence v. Washington (1974)
- Texas v. Johnson (1989)
- United States v. Eichman (1990)
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
Flag Burning, Free Speech, and Free Expression:
- Free Expression as Political Subversion
- Flag Burning vs. Flag Waving, Speech vs. Expression
- If Desecration is a Crime, What is Prohibited?
- Censorship Envy: Breaking the First Amendment Truce
- Copyrighting the Meaning of the Flag
- The American Flag as Symbol — But of What?
Problems with Banning Flag Burning, Desecration:
