Houston Democrats

The Houston Chronicle reports that Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is sponsoring an amendment to the United States Constitution to ban flag burning. Supporters of such an amendment hope that the amendment gets more than half-staff support this time. They believe a larger Republican majority, the attacks of September 11, 2001, and patriotism fueled by the war in Iraq provide the best chance for the amendment to pass.

Senator Hatch says:

The American people want this.

However, the GOP senator might wish to consult with the Associated Press's polling results. The AP's informal survey hints that a flag burning amendment is no more likely to pass now than it has in the past. The AP poll discovered that 35 senators oppose such an amendment, which is one more than the number needed if all 100 senators vote.

Hillary Clinton and two other senators have come out strongly against the proposed amendment.

Clinton said:

As I have said in the past, I support federal legislation that would outlaw flag desecration, much like laws that currently prohibit the burning of crosses, but I don't believe a constitutional amendment is the answer.

The House has voted overwhelmingly in favor of the amendment by a vote of 286-130.

To pass, the amendment will need the support of two-thirds of the Senate in addition to the support already gained in the House. To be ratified three-fourths (38) of the states must approve the amendment within seven years. Although the House passed the flag burning amendment, and has several times before, it usually gets shut down in the Senate. Of course this time could be different

Critics say that the amendment violates an individual's right to free speech. Supporters suggest that critics are out of touch with the American people.

Representative Randy Cunningham (R-CA):

Ask the men and women who stood on top of the Trade Center. Ask them and they will tell you: Pass this amendment.

Really?

Is prohibiting the burning of our flag going to make the families affected by the attacks on September 11 come any closer to knowing the full extent of the intelligence failures that occured?

Is protecting our flag going to somehow increase our national security? I certainly would feel safer if the Stars and Stripes were protected from flammable objects.

Is protecting our flag going to provide any protection to the hundreds of thousands of Americans overseas fighting in Iraq? I'm not so sure the soldiers will be happy to find out that this amendment comes before adequate armor and supplies.

Is a flag burning amendment going to prevent any future conflicts?

I believe the answer to each of these questions is an absolutely firm NO. I believe as Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) does:

If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress who value the symbol more than the freedoms that the flag represents.

The really sad thing is that I bet most of our American flags are made abroad in countries like China. That's what bothers me more than if someone burns a flag. What has happened to the production base of our country? What ever happened to "Made in the USA?" Wal-Mart even used to pride itself on only selling American-made products. Now one is hard pressed to find something at Wal-Mart that isn't made in China, or some other developing country. Our country is in a profound state of neglect.

I believe the GOP is the one who is out of touch.

It's time to take back the government and to focus on the issues that really matter. Sure flag burning may not be "right" or "appropriate," but neither do I believe it is right or appropriate to desecrate the US Constitution by using it for one's own political gain. I cannot fathom the Senator's desire to focus the efforts of the Senate on an issue such as flag burning when our nation is spending billions of taxpayer's money in Iraq (Kerry really was right), where over 1700 Americans have died (in addition to the soldiers from other nations and at least tens of thousands of Iraqis) at a time when Medicare is about to flatline, Social Security is facing insolvency, children are being left behind because the money for public education is being spent in Iraq, etc., etc., etc....

But maybe the GOP is trying to keep the focus on issues other than their (dis)information that led us to war in Iraq, the lack of any coherent and measured plan to get out of Iraq, Bush's plummeting ratings, his poor record on Social Security, the cost of gas, etc., etc., etc....

Shouldn't we be focusing on the nation itself, not just its symbols? I mean what good is a national flag if the nation falls apart?

If Republicans are really dead set on prohibiting the burning of the American flag, would it not be easier to just make the flag out of a material that won't burn? At least that way they could award yet another no-bid contract to Cheney's Good Old Pals (the real GOP) over at Halliburton for a cool billion dollars.

I would like to end with this:

One cannot create respect for any national symbol through legislation. That is only something developed over time through leading by example and action, not merely paying lip service as our brazenly arrogant administration does to our inalienable rights, freedoms, and values protected in our Constitution.