Help pass flag amendment legislation
Flag Day is June 14. Communities across our nation will celebrate with public observances and displays, many involving The American Legion. Ceremonies and activities are certain to include local dignitaries, including members of Congress. This presents an opportunity.
Congressional lawmakers have important unfinished business to address: House Joint Resolution 9, introduced by Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., on Jan. 7, 2015, and its companion bill, S.J. Resolution 21, introduced by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., on July 30, 2015. The bills state simply, “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical
desecration of the flag of the United States.”
The American Legion has been leading the fight to protect Old Glory since a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1989 defined flag desecration as protected speech. Subsequent rulings made clear that the only way to protect the flag is to pass a constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress.
The amendment has massive public support. Polls by the Citizens Flag Alliance, a coalition of 140 organizations, show that much more than a supermajority of Americans favor it – up to 80 percent of the public. Fifty state legislatures have passed resolutions supporting a flag protection amendment, which is no surprise when one considers that the 1989 ruling invalidated laws against flag desecration that were already on the books in 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Even more important than carrying out the will of the majority are the values we instill in young people by demonstrating respect for our nation’s colors. My experience as a young man at Hoosier Boys State inspired me to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, pursue an Army career and later serve as an active member of the Legion. None of the mentors who helped guide my formative years would ever have dreamed of engaging in an act so insulting to our nation’s identity and to those who have sworn with their lives to protect the freedoms symbolized by our flag. Young people today need to understand that flag respect, not desecration, is worthy of constitutional protection.
Opponents of the flag amendment tell us that acts of desecration are rare. Yet we regularly see news footage and social media videos of demonstrations that include stomping, burning and other forms of disrespect. Patriotic Americans are also sometimes discouraged from displaying the flag by overzealous homeowner associations or school officials who see U.S. flag likenesses on T-shirts as controversial.
It’s worth noting that red, white and blue neckties, towels, shirts and other gear may resemble our flag, but unless they were cut from an actual flag, they aren’t the flag. Just as you would never put a beach towel over a war hero’s coffin, the flag protection amendment would not threaten your favorite patriotic apparel.
Allegiance is the loyalty of a citizen to his or her government or of a subject to his or her sovereign. It is a safe assumption that virtually every member of Congress has at one time pledged allegiance to the U.S. flag. Let’s remind them what that means.