Don't use a flag-burning amendment as a test of patriotism in America

[struggle4progress]

Are you a tried and true patriot? Then surely you support an 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution: ''The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.''

That's an assumption that makes us uncomfortable, particularly because flag-burning isn't a real problem in America. ''Where is the epidemic of flag burning?'' asks Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., ranking member of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution. There isn't one, is the obvious answer.

Proposed amendments to the Constitution need approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate before being sent to the states for ratification. Thirty-eight states would need to ratify the proposal for it to become just the 18th amendment since the original 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights. There's a reason why the standards for passage by Congress and the states are set so high. Amending the Constitution should never be taken lightly. <snip>

The push for a flag-burning amendment began in 1989 after the Supreme Court ruled in a Texas case that flag burning is protected expression under the First Amendment. A poll by the Freedom Forum as recently as 2004 found that 53 percent of Americans believe the Constitution should not be amended; 45 percent support a ban. <snip>

http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/all-editorial2jun24,0,3984098.story?coll=all-newsopinion-hed