You must – there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you`re looking for one that is only included in the full Merriam-Webster dictionary. “Flag Law”. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flag%20law. Retrieved 16 October 2022. In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, the House of Representatives continued to consider constitutional amendments that would allow Congress to pass legislation prohibiting the desecration of the flag. In 2003, the House of Representatives passed an amendment that states that “Congress has the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.” 4 (108th Cong., 1st Sess.). According to one of the proponents of the amendment, Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH), “If we allow [the flag] to be downgraded, we are allowing the gradual decline of our country.” The House of Representatives approved the resolution by a vote of 300 to 125. The official banner of a state or nation, often adorned with emblems or images symbolizing that state or nation. In 1994, Alabama Governor Jim Folsom, Jr., decided to move a Confederate flag from the state Capitol area to a nearby war memorial. His decision was partly in response to pressure from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). After that, South Carolina was the only former member of the Confederate States of America to fly the Confederate flag on its Capitol, although some Southern states still use it as part of their flag design. The problem grew and diminished in the South Carolina legislature over the next few years, with no solution. In late 1999, the NAACP mobilized again and called for a boycott of all tourism, sports, cultural and film events in South Carolina until the flag was removed.
On the American flag, 13 horizontal stripes (red and white) represent the original 13 colonies. The Union is represented by 50 white stars for the 50 States, arranged on a blue background. The American flag is sometimes called Stars and Stripes, Old Glory or Red, White and Blue. The Stars and Stripes became a popular and revered symbol of the United States during and after the Civil War. The Union`s victory over Confederation and the return to a united country generated a patriotic zeal embodied in this symbol. When large numbers of immigrants entered the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the flag was appropriated as a symbol of nationalism and patriotism by groups who believed that the cultures and customs of the new citizens threatened national unity and security. During the same period that the advertising industry developed with rapid industrialization, the flag was often used for commercial purposes. Flags or images of flags were used to promote everything from toilet paper to chewing gum. The flag was also appropriated for political purposes. In 1896, Republican presidential candidate William McKinley`s campaign manager distributed millions of flags for McKinley`s rallies. The McKinley campaign also distributed flag buttons as a symbol of support for the candidate.
Dorsen, Norman. 2000. “Desecration of flags in courts, congress and country.” Thomas M. Cooley Law Review 17 (September): 417–42. The controversy over the flag revolves around the intended meaning of the flag. If a state`s flag is a “symbolic speech,” there must be a clear intention to convey a particular message that is understood by those who look at it in order to invoke First Amendment consideration. Under these conditions, the time, place and nature of the report can be controlled if it can be proven that their relationship would cause violence or chaos. According to the NAACP, the Confederate battle flag and emblem were “adopted as the principal symbols for the many modern white supremacist groups.” The NAACP described the flag as the “banner of secession and slavery.” However, some Southern whites see it as a banner of honor for Confederate soldiers who lost their lives during the American Civil War. Moreover, they interpret the war to mean that it was more about the power of the states and the federal power and the right of the states to secede from a union they had voluntarily joined, rather than a war to end the institution of slavery. Even further, others see the flag as a banner of “betrayal of the U.S. government.” Curtis, Michael Kent, ed. 1993.
The Constitution and the Flag, Volume I: The Cases of the Flag Salute; and Volume II: The Flag Burning Cases. New York: Garland. Although the amendment was formally considered by the Senate in October 2003, similar measures failed in the Senate in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001. To pass, the proposed amendment must receive a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, as well as three-quarters of state approval. In 1995 and 2001, similar measures received 63 votes, four of them just short of the required two-thirds majority. Democrats who oppose the change have called the biannual legislation a “spring rite” for House Republicans who support the measure. The Supreme Court again considered the constitutionality of flag desecration laws in the Texasv case. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, 109 pp.
Ct. 2533, 105 L. Ed. 2D 342 (1989). At the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, the defendant, Gregory Lee Johnson and a hundred others demonstrated in front of Congress Hall. During the protest, Johnson burned an American flag. He was later arrested for violating the Texas Venerated Objects Act (Tex. § 42.09 (a) (3) [Vernon 1974]), which prohibited the desecration of a flag, intentionally or knowingly, in a manner that some observers might find seriously offensive. Johnson was convicted, but his conviction was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (Johnson, 755 S.W.2d 92 [Tex. Crim. App. 1988]).
The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision, the court upheld the Court of Criminal Appeals and ruled that Johnson`s conduct was expressive communication, a form of speech that requires First Amendment protection. With respect to Texas` assertion that it had a legitimate interest in preventing a breach of the peace, the court noted that no breach of the peace occurred or was threatened by Johnson`s burning of the flag. The court also found that the Revered Objects Act was subject to the strictest constitutional scrutiny because it restricted Johnson`s freedom of speech because of the content of the message he was trying to convey.
