2002 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire
Flag Protection Constitutional Amendment
In 1989, the US Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. Johnson that physical desecration of the American Flag was "speech," protected by the First Amendment. The 5-4 ruling ignored 200 years of tradition and invalidated the flag protection laws of 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Responding to the Court’s flawed decision, The American Legion founded the Citizens Flag Alliance. Continued efforts to seek legal protection for the Flag of the United States are spurred by the petitions of 49 state legislatures, the desire of 80 percent of the people, and the support from an overwhelming majority in Congress for a flag protection constitutional amendment.
To correct the Court’s ruling and return to the people their right to protect the flag from acts of physical desecration, the CFA calls on Congress to propose the following amendment and send it to the states for ratification.
"The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."
Every candidate’s stand on the flag amendment is important to the 142 organizations that comprise the CFA. Please complete, sign and return this questionnaire to The American Legion at the address or by way of fax at the number below so that we might communicate your position to each of them. Information about flag protection and the Citizens Flag Alliance is available on the CFA web site at
www.cfa-inc.org.
Question 1:
Do you believe burning the American flag is speech as defined by the First Amendment?NO
Question 2:
Do you believe elected officials have an obligation to correct the mistakes of the court?YES
Question 3:
Do you believe the people should have the right to protect their flag if they so chose?YES
Question 4:
If elected to the 108th Congress, will you cosponsor the flag-protection amendment?YES
Question 5:
If elected to the 108th Congress, will you vote for the flag-protection amendment quoted above?YES
Question 6:
Would you like the CFA to send you more information on the Flag- Protection Amendment?YES
To better understand your concerns for this issue, we invite you to include a position statement with this questionnaire.
Diversity is our strength. Tolerance is our greatness. The flag is the symbol. The desecration of the flag is intolerable. Should it be? Or, should we tolerate the intolerable? Is desecrating the flag just an expression of opinion? The Supreme Court says it is.
Freedom is about many opinions being expressed openly without fear of retribution or censor. For decades this country has steadily fallen into the trap of creating laws that violate the Rule of Law. Laws that are not really law but a method for oppression of those who find disfavor. We are slowly being homogenized into a single thought, single minded society with no tolerance for differing views. The men and women who have fought and died for this country have given up much so that we may remain free. Freedom includes the right to disagree. The right to disagree is the foundation of this country. The foundation will crumble if this right is relinquished.
I have the utmost respect and admiration for members of the American Legion.
I have never seen anyone desecrate the flag. I have seen it on TV and it makes me sad and angry. Emotional issue aside, is it "free speech". The Supreme Court says it is. Now here is the problem as I see it. First, should we try to nullify the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and what are the consequences? Second, to overturn the Supreme Court ruling would take a Constitutional Amendment. That would require ratification by the House, the Senate, and States. It would take at least 7 years and billions of dollars with no guarantee that anyone would ever be prosecuted for a violation. I would much rather see the time and money spent on an amendment put towards increasing Veteran benefits, increasing pay for active duty personnel, and rebuilding the services.
My personal feeling is that if someone desecrates the flag they should be severely admonished, if that fails beat the hell out of them. And, I believe there are existing laws that can be used to punish those who would desecrate the flag without getting into the "Freedom of Speech" arena.