I'm an amendment to be, yes, an amendment to be...

I thought this issue had already been decided in the late 1980s, but the House of Representatives has voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban the burning of the U.S. flag.

Eugene Volokh explained why this is such a bad idea in the Los Angeles Times last year:

Right now, when people -- mostly blacks -- are deeply offended by what they see as a symbol of racism and slavery [the Confederate flag], the legal system can powerfully tell them: "Yes, you must endure this speech that you find so offensive, but others must endure offensive speech, too. Many Americans hate flagburning as much as you hate the Confederate flag, but the Constitution says we all have to live with being offended: We must fight the speech we hate through argument, not through suppression."

But what would we say when flagburning is banned but other offensive symbols are allowed? "We in the majority get to suppress symbols we hate, but you in the minority don't"? "Our hatred of flagburning is reasonable but your hatred of the Confederate flag is unreasonable"?

If you were black and saw the Confederate flag as a symbol of slavery and racism -- and millions of blacks do, whether you agree with them or not -- would you be persuaded by these arguments? Would you feel better about America because of them?
[...]
The [First] Amendment is a truce: "I won't try to suppress your ideas, if you don't try to suppress mine." And the flagburning amendment risks shattering this truce.

(both links via InstaPundit)

Posted by damian at June 22, 2005 10:44 PM | TrackBack