Worrying that banning flag desecration would inhibit free speech reveals a misunderstanding of the flag's fundamental nature.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Laws protecting the United States flag do not cut away at the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment... Congress made this position clear upon passage of the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which prohibited desecration of the flag.
Flag desecration is not a constitutional issue for the courts. It is a political one that belongs to the people.
We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so, we dilute the freedom this cherished emblem represents.
Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.
I think free speech is probably the coolest thing we have in this country, and again, you can label it hate speech and dismiss it, and then you're allowed to censor it.
Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance.
Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech.
Free speech rights means that government officials are barred from creating lists of approved and disapproved political ideas and then using the power of the state to enforce those preferences.
Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself.
I believe that movements to suppress wrongs can be carried out under the protection of our flag.