"Don't Know Much About History..."

     Or even about Constitutionality (with apologies to the songwriters).  While most people would agree that the First Amendment protects some of the most fundamental of human rights, not everyone agrees.

     Take the GOP's Presidential candidate, speaking yesterday at the 146th General Conference and Exhibition of the National Guard Association of the United States,* a lobbying and general membership organization of and for National Guard members: "I want to get a law passed.  Everyone tells me, oh sure, it's very hard. You burn an American flag, you go to jail for one year.  Got to do it, we got to do it.  They say, 'Sir, that's not constitutional.'  We'll make it constitutional."

     It doesn't work that way.  Don't take my word for it; ask the experts.  Ask the United States Supreme Court.†  You can't make it constitutional without undermining basic rights.

     I think our flag should be treated with respect.  I think our government ought to conduct itself in such a way that only the most desperate or ill-intentioned of persons or groups would ever burn our flag with disrespect, or otherwise mistreat it.  But to do so is indeed "expressive conduct," and it should not -- per the Court, cannot -- be made illegal.

     Burning your draft card was a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 462(b)(3), carrying a fine of $10,000 and up to five years in a Federal jail.  The Supreme Court ruled that bit of fire-setting was more than free speech (it also bollixed the draft process) and let the law stand.  And yet the burning of draft cards during the Vietnam War, often very publicly, did not cease.  So I'm doubtful of the deterrent effect of a year in jail for flag-burning, especially since an exception would have to made for the proper disposal of U. S. flags, a process which also involves (respectful) burning.
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* It took me several minutes to track this down.  News reports mostly left it at "spoke before the National Guard," which is not at all accurate and gives a misleading impression of the circumstances.
 
† And read the fine print.  In at least one of the cases covered, the accused were said to have stolen the U. S. flag they burned from a post office.  Whoops -- that'd be "destruction of government property," for which they were convicted and fined.  A couple of them did (minor) jail time.  Free speech?  Sure, but you're going to have to supply your own props, not steal them.