Flag Burning: Back to the Justices

Back to the Justices

After the Supreme Court ruled last summer that laws banning flag desecration were unconstitutional infringements on freedom of expression, Congress rushed to appease indignant voters with a new Flag Protection Act. George Bush and many congressional Republicans insisted, however, that nothing less than a constitutional amendment could provide real protection for the colors. Last week a federal judge in Seattle proved them right.

In a case involving four protesters who set a flag afire in front of the Seattle Post Office, U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein found the Flag Protection Act invalid. Rothstein ruled, "Burning the flag as an expression of...

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