Monday, June 14, 2021

A group of Republican senators seeks to ban the physical desecration of the American flag, including attempts to burn it
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© Provided by Washington Examiner

Sen. Steve Daines of Montana reintroduced a constitutional amendment on Monday, which was also Flag Day.

"The American flag is a symbol of liberty and a beacon of hope," Daines said in a statement. "It represents the ideals that our nation was built upon and for decades, brave men and women have carried its colors into battle to defend the United States of America. The Stars and Stripes are a representation of freedom. We must always protect and respect the American flag."

Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota co-sponsored the amendment.

Daines pursued a similar measure on Flag Day of 2018 and 2019, unveiling a report of 50 "offensive acts" done against the country's flag since 2014.

Among the incidents the senator listed included one in 2016 when anti-Trump protesters burned an American flag and a "Make America Great Again" hat after a San Jose Trump rally. He also said there was a 2017 incident involving the burning of a flag by vandals that belonged to a Marine veteran in Ohio and a 2017 incident in which a flag was hung outside of a local business in Arlington, Virginia, and burned.

In 2019, former President Donald Trump called the amendment a "no-brainer," saying he was "all-in" for the proposal.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that desecrating the American flag was constitutionally protected as free speech.

Amendments, however, can be added to the Constitution if two-thirds of both chambers of Congress agree on a proposal and three-fourths of states ratify it, or two-thirds of state legislatures call a convention in favor of the proposed changes.

The closest Congress has come to passing such a proposal in recent history was in 2006. A measure to ban burning the flag passed the House, but it failed by one vote in the Senate, which needed two-thirds support to be sent to the states for ratification. The vote was 66-34.

The Fraternal Order of Police, the American Legion of Montana, and the Department of Montana Veterans of Foreign Wars are among organizations that support the measure, Daines's office said.

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