President-elect Donald Trump suggested today in a tweet that burning the American flag should result in “loss of citizenship or year in jail.”
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
Flag burning is legal in the U.S., protected by the First Amendment.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1989 ruled that burning the flag as a form of “symbolic speech” is a constitutional right. The narrow 5-4 decision came in a case involving Gregory Joey Johnson who, outside the 1984 Republican National Convention, burned the flag to protest the policies of then-President Ronald Reagan.
But Trump’s tweet and subsequent comments by Jason Miller, spokesman for the president-elect’s transition team, suggest Trump may want to try to revive this issue and outlaw flag-burning.
“Flag-burning should be illegal,” Miller said on CNN when asked about Trump’s tweet. “The president-elect is a very strong supporter of the First Amendment, but there’s a big difference between that and burning the American flag,” Miller said.
It wasn’t clear what prompted Trump’s tweet on the issue. But it came after a group of military veterans and others protested this weekend at Hampshire College in western Massachusetts against a decision by the school to temporarily stop flying the U.S. flag after students allegedly burned a flag in protest of Trump’s election.
Flag-burning was at times used as a form of protest against Trump during his presidential campaign, including by Johnson, who was among 17 demonstrators arrested in Cleveland this July during the Republican National Convention.
Johnson spoke to ABC News last month on the broader topics of protest and Trump, then a presidential candidate, after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticized San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during pregame performances of the national anthem in what the football player said is a protest against the treatment of blacks in the U.S. Ginsburg later expressed regret for criticizing Kaepernick’s protest.
“Today in the U.S., it’s the same flag and the nationalistic chauvinism is even worse,” Johnson told ABC News in the interview, referring to his role in the Supreme Court‘s 1989 case.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-flag-burners-lose-citizenship-spend-year-jail/story?id=43842355
Burn it, fly it upside down, whatever, because what these commies, socialists and other un American collectives have turned my country into is a disgrace, and as an American, the flag holds no intrinsic pride or honor as it is a complete foreign representation of a free Republic with an emphasis on our individual rights.
LONG LIVE THE BILL OF RIGHTS!!!
DONTCHA JUST LOVE FAKE ASSED “PATRIOTISM? HE SHOULD SPEND A YEAR IN PRISON FOR PASSING BULLSHIT RULES THAT USURP THE BILL OF RIGHTS…… I DUB THEE DONALD JOHNNY “O’TRAUMA”…..NEW BOSS SAME AS OLD BOSS…………………………….
You people just don’t get it do ya?
Trump said that to get the ENEMEDIA to attack him……for a bill that Hillary Clinton sponsored back in 2005. See that here…….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_Protection_Act_of_2005
He said what he said to get the ENEMEDIA to show their hypocrisy. Trump is a master chess and poker player and is also one hell of a troll……..he does what he does with forethought and intelligence.
Trump just made the media look really stupid. And I am sorry to say, you all fell for the bait too.
Before you post……you should THINK.
I MEANT WHAT I SAID ENEMA STEVE
@crickets…………………
I’m not at all convinced that your interpretation is correct, Steve.
Trump has shown his authoritarian colors in other ways (e.g., Snowden/NSA) so why should we believe he’s any different on this issue?
Besides, why would he be trying to make a point, by trolling or otherwise, about Hillary’s past support for a tyrannical bill? The election is over.
And how about Trump’s spokesman? Is he in on the joke and trolling as well?
Sorry, not buying it. Perhaps you’re indulging in wishful thinking?
Ohhhh, so what you are saying is that Trump will lie to the media to get them to do something. Wonder who else he would lie to to get them to do something.
nailed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trump just made the media look stupid and he has intelligence? Are you f-ing kidding me?
And so Darth Donald is already beginning his authoritarian reign. Maybe we could wrap him in a flag and exercise our first amendment rights.
which flag Trump?
the fringed one or the real one?
the ones who should be in jail are the ones flying the fringed flag , so round up all the courts and Fed offices etc..GETMO of this ..I..
If it’s my flag, then it’s my property and I’ll do whatever the hell I want with it. Flags are inanimate objects, so they don’t have rights. People do have rights.
The whole point of the First Amendment is to protect the free expression of unpopular and even offensive viewpoints. That includes burning the US flag, wiping our asses with it, tossing it in the garbage, or whatever else we might care to do with it. It also includes the sort of “hate speech” that the leftists wish to suppress.
All the butthurt candy-asses on the so-called “right” AND the “left” need to get over themselves and suck up the fact that there is NO right to never be offended — even greviously offended. There CAN’T be such a right in a society based on equal rights under the law, since everyone is offended by different things.
Anyone who wants to outlaw flag “desecration” is a fascist, anti-American swine. If anyone should pack up and leave the country, it is their sort. They reject one of the most fundamental American values.
*** “Flag-burning should be illegal,” Miller said on CNN when asked about Trump’s tweet. “The president-elect is a very strong supporter of the First Amendment, but there’s a big difference between that and burning the American flag,” Miller said. ***
And what is that “very big difference,” sh!thead?
This is just like what we’ve heard from Obama and Hillary on guns. “We are strong supporters of the Second Amendment. But we support some reasonable restrictions, like outlawing assault weapons.” Pure totalitarian doublespeak.
THATS RIGHT BMF…… DJ IS BARAKS BUTT BROTHER, AND THE CONSERVATIVE NIGGER OF THE O’TRAUMA FAMILY. THEY ARE ALL KIN, AND TOW THE FAMILY LINE…………..
largely what the SCOTUS said about the flag
Bill of Rights!
…which was created to remind the Gov of the intrinsic rights of “the people”
This was stated by many during the hashing out of the US Constitution. Patrick Henry was very strong on the peoples rights and keeping the Govs (eyes etc) hand off.
Absolutely spot on BMF!
Except burning that damned FEDERAL MILITARY MARTIAL LAW FLAG is what everyone should be doing. It is NOT the flag of the AMERICAN PEOPLE! Never has been, will never be. I have never seen one picture of the ACTUAL US flag being burned, ever. So burn those damned federal flags people, burn them all! It stands for martial law and federal government, go look up the REAL US flag and fly one of those, it is guaranteed to confound the hell out of everyone when they see the REAL flag.
Those are FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MILITARY MARTIAL LAW flags or ADMIRALTY flags if they have fringe. Burn them all. ALL of them. Go fly the REAL US flag which looks nothing like it, confound your neighbors by flying it. Those damned martial law flags should not be allowed to fly anywhere except D.C. and military bases.
thanks you said it better than I was trying above
I want to respond to this, but can’t stop laughing …..