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Flag and Cross Burning as Free Speech Issues
Summary: Free speech is a foundation of U.S. society, but the courts have ruled that it must be limited in order to prevent illegal acts. This can be seen in case histories about anti-black cross burnings by the Klu Klux Klan. This is not the case with flag burning because, the Supreme Court has ruled, this act does not present a clear and present danger to the public welfare and is, therefore, protected speech under the First Amendment.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution better known as The Bill of Rights were developed by the Founding Fathers in order to protect specific rights of the people of that time. The First Amendment protected speech, religion and expression. The First Amendment was most probably protecting scientific discourse, music, literature and the arts of elite white males. In 1791, there was no protection implied or otherwise for women or black slaves. The cross burning of the Ku Klux Klan or flag burning of American citizens was not a consideration of the Founding Fathers. The First Amendment has evolved over many years into the protector it is for the citizens of the United States.
Forty-seven states in the United States have laws prohibiting burning the American Flag. The Supreme Court has invalidated these state statutes two times. Most notably the case of Texas v Johnson a 1989 case presented by...
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This section contains 1,467 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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