Reply #34: It's a free speech issue

[proud2BlibKansan]

One of the very first laws that Red China passed upon assuming control of Hong Kong was to make flag burning illegal. Saddam Hussein made desecration of the Iraq flag a criminal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Senator Bob Kerrey is more articulate than I could ever hope to be:
I fear the unintended consequences of these 17 words and the laws that may be enacted later will be far worse than the consequences of us witnessing the occasional and shocking and disgusting desecration of this great symbol of liberty and freedom.

Real patriotism cannot be coerced. It must be a voluntary, unselfish, brave act to sacrifice for others. And when Americans feel coercion especially from their government they tend to rebel. So none of us should be surprised Mr. Chairman if one unintended consequence of the laws that prohibit unpopular activity such as this is an actual increase in the incidents of flag desecration.

http://www.aclu.org//freespeech/flag/11124res20040304.html