Should flag burning be illegal?NEWS FACT Picture this: There is a loud protest outside the White House. Someone holds up an American flag and sets it on fire. Some people cheer. Others are offended. Is flag-burning a symbolic act of self-expression or a threat to the American way The American way of life is an expression that refers to the "life style" of people living in the United States of America. It is an example of a behavioral modality, developed from the 17th century until today. of life? In June, that question went before the U.S. Senate. Sixty-six out of 100 lawmakers voted to amend (change) the Constitution to make flag burning illegal. They were one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed. (The House approved a similar measure last year.) If Congress had passed the amendment, the next step would have been the states voting whether or not to ratify ratify v. to confirm and adopt the act of another even though it was not approved beforehand. Example: An employee for Holsinger's Hardware orders carpentry equipment from Phillips Screws and Nails although the employee was not authorized to buy anything. (approve) it. Why did so many Congress members want to amend the Constitution? Why not just pass a federal law? Over the years, most states have passed laws banning desecration (disrespectful dis·re·spect·ful adj. Having or exhibiting a lack of respect; rude and discourteous. dis  re·spect treatment) of the flag. However,
in 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that flag burning is a form of
free speech that is protected by the First Amendment. Still, many
Americans believe that it should be outlawed. Congress is likely to take
up the matter again.
What Do You Think? Should flag burning be unconstitutional? YES Burning the flag, says Gianluca Viscomi, 13, is "against our country, where we live, where we are from, It is disrespectful and unpatriotic." An eighth-grader at Frank Ashley Day Middle School Frank Ashley Day Middle School is a public school in the village of Newtonville in the City of Newton, Massachusetts. The school teaches grades six through eight. Approximately 765 students attend Day. in Newton, Massachusetts The City of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, is an important residential suburb of Boston, which abuts it on the east. According to the 2000 census, the population of the Newton was 83,829, making it the tenth largest city in the state. , Gianluca believes in the importance of setting limits. Freedom of speech, she tells JS, "means it's OK to do what you want and say what you want. But there should always be consequences for our actions." Darion McElrath, 11, a sixth-grader at Jennings Middle School in Akron, Ohio Akron is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County.GR6 The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland to the north and Canton to the south, approximately 60 miles (96 km) west of , agrees. "It's a disgrace to our nation to burn the flag," he says. "It hurts our soldiers." Demitriuce McNeil, 11, also a sixth-grader at Jennings, believes that the flag is more than just a symbol. It represents "the people who live here," he says. "Burning it makes me mad." NO "We should be able to burn the flag if it's for the right purpose, says Angle Cortes, 14, an eighth-grader at Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell is the name of:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . "A lot of people died to give us our freedoms. We shouldn't change the Constitution." Angle thinks that the government should focus on other issues facing Americans, including education. Veronica Medina, 14, also an Elizabeth Blackwell student, says, "The flag represents our nation's freedoms. It should be our right to burn it." She believes that setting limits on individual rights could lead the nation down a dangerous path. "If the government says we can't [burn the flag], then they can stop us from doing other things too. I know [flag burning] may look bad, but the person who does it must have a strong opinion. We have to respect that." |
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