Flag Burning Essays - 1065 Words

Flag Burning Flag Burning can be and usually is a very controversial issue. Many people are offended by the thought of destroying this countrys symbol of liberty and freedom. During a political protest during the 1984 Republican Convention, Gregory Lee Johnson was arrested for burning an American flag. Years later in 1989, Johnson got the decision overturned by the United States Supreme Court. In the same year, the state of Texas passed the Flag Protection Act, which prohibited any form of desecration against the American flag. This act provoked many people to protest and burn flags anyway. Two protestors, Shawn Eichman and Mark Haggerty were charged with violating the law and arrested. Both Eichman and Haggerty appealed the†¦show more content†¦While the Republican National Convention was taking place in Dallas in 1984, respondent Johnson participated in a political protest. The purpose of this event was to protest the policies of the Reagan administration and of certain Dallas-b ased corporations. The demonstrators marched through the Dallas streets, chanting political slogans and stopping at several corporate locations to dramatize the consequences of nuclear war. On several occasions they spray-painted the walls of buildings and overturned potted plants, but Johnson himself took no part in such activities. He did, however, accept an American flag handed to him by a fellow protestor. The demonstration ended in front of Dallas City Hall, where Johnson unfolded the American flag, drenched it with kerosene, and set it on fire. While the flag burned, the protestors chanted. No one was physically injured or threatened with injury, though several witnesses had said that they had been seriously offended by the flag burning. Of all of the demonstrators, Johnson was the only person charged with a crime. The only criminal offense with which he was charged was the desecration of a venerated object. After a trial, he was convicted, sentenced to one year in prison, and fined $2,000. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas affirmed Johnsons conviction, but the Texas Court ofShow MoreRelatedBurning The United States Flag1014 Words   |  5 PagesBurning the United States Flag Through the years of America, there have been multiple accounts of flag desecration. Flag desecration is a term that is used to describe a various set of acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public, and in this case, the American flag. Citizen’s typically doing this treasonous act when they want to make a political point against their country or policies in the country or another country. Some of these actions include: burning it, urinatingRead MoreFlag Burning - a Persuasive Essay1044 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom of Speech: Flag Burning Flag burning has been one of the most controversial forms of nonviolent protests. It is often linked with the Middle East and Hezbollah with depictions of Arabs against President Bush burning the American flag. Americans are intimidated and threatened by this action, but that does not make it illegal. Supreme Court rulings have upheld that peaceful flag desecration is a form of political speech that should be protected by our Constitution (Flag Burning Myths). ThisRead More Flag-Burning is No Crime Essay1161 Words   |  5 Pagesmean? The American Flag can be seen almost anywhere. From the high-school, to the ball park, and even in our homes, the American flag stands as a symbol of all that is good and true in America. When one thinks of the flag, they usually think of the blood that was shed for this country. It was shed so that we could have liberties, such as, freedom of speech and expression, which fall under the first amendment rights of the Constitution. However, when you think of a burning flag, what comes to mindRead MoreEssay on Flag Burning: The Debate Continues2567 Words   |  11 PagesAbstract  Ã‚  Ã‚   Several times in our nations history, Congress has introduced a bill that would provide for banning flag desecration. Each time, however, the Supreme Court ruled that this act was protected by the First Amendment freedom of speech rights. The debate over this topic continues, with both sides arguing for the good of the country.      In a 1943 landmark Supreme Court case, Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote, The freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter muchRead More The Flag-burning Debate Continues Essay examples1186 Words   |  5 PagesThe Flag-burning Debate Continues      Ã‚   Nazis captured Jim Rogers. He was routinely beaten and given barely enough food to survive. During the time he spent in a World War II prisoner of war camp, he managed to keep his sanity by scraping together bits and pieces of colored cloth in order to make an American flag. As his fellow prisoners began to die, it was his American flag which provided him with a sense of identity and gave him the inspiration to keep living.    It is no wonder, thenRead MoreBurning The American Flag : The Flag1852 Words   |  8 PagesAshley Lawrence Ms. Zlotziver ERWC 15 December 2015 Burning the American Flag â€Å"Old Glory,† otherwise known as the American Flag, has been a huge part of America s history and a representation of The United States of America. Ever since The American Flag has been around there have been countless debates about whether it should be a crime to burn or deface the flag. Throughout the world there are many places where defacing your country s symbol is considered a crime and considered disrespectfulRead MoreThe Burning Of The American Flag1040 Words   |  5 Pagespresident Ronald Reagan. One of protesters, known as Gregory Lee Johnson, set an American flag on flames in order to express his opinions. The Texas law enforcement arrested him due to the fact he broke a state law which prohibits the burning of the American flag. Johnson appealed and escalated the case up to the federal Supreme Court. In 1989, The Supreme Court decided that the burning of the American flag was an act of one’s freedom of speech and that it was supported by the Constituti on. TheyRead More Flag Burning and the First Amendment2123 Words   |  9 Pages   Ã‚   Your First Amendment rights are extremely close to being violated by none other than the United States Congress. I refer to the Flag Desecration Bill that, if passed, would do irreparable damage to our right to free speech and undermine the very priniciples for which the American flag stands. Fortunately, West Virginians have an ally in Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Sen. Byrd, who previously favored the bill, now fights to protect our rights by stopping the passage of this bill. I applaud his standRead More Burning the American Flag Essay681 Words   |  3 PagesBurning the American Flag The American flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, with seven red stripes alternating among six white. In the upper left corner there is a rectangular blue space that contains fifty white stars. The thirteen stripes symbolize the thirteen original colonies of the United states of America and the stars represent the fifty states of the Union. White is said to symbolize purity and innocence. Red symbolizes strength and courage, and blue symbolizes vigilance, perseveranceRead MoreIs Flag-Burning Constitutionally Protected?2303 Words   |  10 PagesCabinet on television, radio talk show or in the newspaper; or publicly protest against the government tax policy. However, Free Speech protection becomes debatable when some American citizens burn the nation’s flag to express their disagreement to the government. The act of burning the American Flag should be constitutionally protected under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause because the act is a symbolic exp ression that communicates an individual’s idea or opinion about his nation; and that the