Protesters responded quickly by burning flags, in an attempt to get the issue back to the Supreme Court. But the legislative branch struck first and passed the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which made it criminal to desecrate the flag, regardless of motive. The flag is so revered because it represents the land of the free, and that freedom includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest.Īlmost immediately after the ruling was made, President Bush proposed a solution: a constitutional amendment that would exempt flag-desecration as protected speech.
Johnson, declared that federal and state laws that protect the flag are in violation of free-speech protections. Yet, he continued, that was precisely the reason why the court, in the case Texas v.
