In my feed today were several people citing a post exclaiming that Trumps first order would be a treason charge against burning the flag. From what I could find, the only people saying this are right-wing extremist sites. To date, there is no evidence from the President elect or other more mainstream news sources (any of them) that this is indeed the case…which is good.
Let me be clear, I personally would never burn the flag. I take pride in the fact that we live in a nation that includes this as a tenant of first amendment protections. These slippery-slope Laws should be avoided at all costs. If a measure like this passes, what is to stop criminal charges against someone speaking ill of the President, Congress, the White House, or any other ‘symbol’ of our country? Do we really want to see a House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hold session once again (look up the history on that one if you’re not familiar with it)? Also keep in mind, this law would also apply to disrespect of the flag in any way. There are pretty strict guidelines on how the flag should be displayed and worn. Are you ready to throw those in jail that have a flag posted on their truck, dirty or covered in mud? How about getting a ticket because your flag isn’t lit up at night?
I wore the uniform of my country proudly. I did this because of duty, not school, career, or anything else. I took nothing from them when I left except the satisfaction I gave back to my country. I sleep well at night knowing that the Constitution and it’s amendments are looked after.
One other thought to my conservative friends out there, the Supreme Court case that heard this included Justice Scalia and Kennedy. They both supported the First Amendment rights protecting flag burning. I would recommend that when you are reading these articles to please fact check them a bit more. Conservative justices support this measure too. So the single Supreme Court Justice Congress unfairly gave to President-elect Trump isn’t likely to change this.
Sites to research…
Supreme Court Case
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_v._Johnson
House Un-American Activities Committee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee
Flag Etiquette
http://www.usflag.org/flagetiquette.html
One of the Conservative Sites Making this Claim
https://conservativedailypost.com/trumps-first-order-anyone-burning-an-american-flag-to-be-charged-with-treason/