“Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag — if they do, there must be consequences — perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!” Trump tweeted.
Presently, accepted American law is that burning the American flag is a protected right under the First Amendment. This right was affirmed in
1989 when Greg Johnson – a Texas man and communist – was arrested in 1984 for burning an American flag while protesting the Reagan administration and several Dallas companies. The Republican National Convention was held in Dallas that year. Johnson was fined $2,000 and a year in prison for violating a Texas law that forbids vandalizing respected objects, like the American flag.
Originally, his conviction was upheld. But after a second appeal in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, his conviction was overturned on the basis that his “symbolic” speech – the flag-burning – was protected by the First Amendment. The appeals court then turned to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
The high court handed down their controversial 5-4 decision, in the case Texas v. Johnson, late June 1989. They affirmed what the Texas Court of Appeals had decided: that a person’s right to burn the American flag without consequences is protected by the First Amendment. This invalidated the laws of 48 of 50 U.S. states, which until then had outlawed desecration of the flag. Many previous cases were decided on the basis that freedom of speech doesn’t simply apply to the spoken and written word. These were also affirmed.
This is not the first time Trump has advocated for clamping down on actions protected by the First Amendment. Perhaps national pride should also be protected by the constitution. Trump also wants to “open up” the libel laws against the media. This would make the free press more liable to lawsuits. Perhaps it would bring a measure of credibility to the media if their words were scrupulously double-checked before going to print or other modes of media.