Flag Decision Shows Courage


July 3, 2008 · Updated 10:33 PM 

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Rep. Rick Larsen should be commended for having the courage to vote no on the constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration. It is a shame that most of his colleagues (286-130, 18 not voting) chose political expediency over principle.

Flag desecration is undeniably a despicable act, but I believe tampering with the Constitution in order to limit freedom of expression is a far more dangerous and repugnant act. The potential benefits of such a law would be negligible, since the vast majority of flag desecration incidents occur in foreign countries, where U.S. laws don’t apply. Besides, we render the freedom of expression utterly meaningless if we only extend it to popular speech and acts.

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