Prohibit the Physical Desecration of the U.S. Flag!

03/12/2003

• The Flag Amendment Resolution, HJR 4 and SJR 4, Have Been Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary in the House and Senate.
• The Language of the Resolutions is Identical: "The Congress Shall have Power to Prohibit the Physical Desecration of the Flag of the United States."
• Please Contact Your Senators and Representative to Urge them To Cosponsor the HJR 4 and SJR 4.

The national campaign to enact a flag protection amendment began in 1989 when the Supreme Court ruled that flag desecration was a means of public protest in an act of free expression protected by the First Amendment. In response to the Supreme Court decision Congress passed The Flag Protection Act of 1989. In 1990 the Supreme Court stuck down the Flag Protection Act as inconsistent with free-expression protected by the First Amendment. Congress again attempted to enact protections for the flag, this time by constitutional amendment. This effort failed, however, as neither chamber of Congress was able to gain the two thirds majority vote necessary for adoption of a constitutional amendment proposal. After the 1990 congressional votes on the constitutional amendment, the campaign to mobilize national support for enacting an amendment to protect the flag greatly expanded.

Proposed flag-protection constitutional amendment reads, "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." The House should acquire at least 290 votes and the Senate 67 votes for passage of the amendment.

The following U.S. Senators and Representatives are cosponsors of the flag protection amendment. If your Senators or Representative do not appear on this list, please contact them and urge them to become cosponsors. For those who are already cosponsors, please send a message of thanks.

SENATORS

REPRESENTATIVES

The National Grange's policy on the flag protection issue is summarized in our policy book:

The National Grange opposes the desecration of the American flag, with the act of desecration being classified as a federal felony and the penalty being strictly enforced with no exception. If this law is not upheld, we urge Congress to pass a constitutional amendment that will ban the desecration of the American Flag.

Action Plan --- Please try to find out if your Senators and Representative are on the cosponsor list above. If your Senators or Representative do not appear on the list, please contact them and urge them to become cosponsors. For those who are already cosponsors, please send a message of thanks. If you want to find your Senators and House Representative contact information, please click the following. Senators
House Representative

If you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst Chil-Sook Hwang by fax: 202-347-1091 or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative program.

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