Constitutional amendment would protect the flag

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved a resolution adopting the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States. Official recognition of June 14 as Flag Day began when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation in 1916.

For Americans, the flag is one of the most sacred symbols of our government, representing freedom, democracy, and all of the things that we hold most dear about our country.

In recent years, laws designed to protect the U.S. flag have been invalidated by the courts. In a 1990 Supreme Court decision, U.S. v. Eichman, the Court struck down a 1989 federal statute, the Flag Protection Act, as violating the free speech and expression clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Congress passed the Flag Protection Act after a 1989 Supreme Court decision, Texas vs. Johnson, struck down a Texas law that also prohibited the desecration of the American flag.

Because I believe that flag burning and other acts of desecration are forms of expression that should not be protected by the First Amendment, I have cosponsored H.J. Res. 10, a constitutional amendment to protect the American flag from desecration.

The text of the proposed constitutional amendment is: "The Congress shall have the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."

This is not the first time steps have been taken in Congress to protect and preserve the U.S. flag. Constitutional amendments to protect the flag have been debated by every Congress since these court decisions, but have never met all of the ratification requirements.

In order to be added to the Constitution, an amendment must be approved by a two-thirds majority in the House, by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, and by three-fourths of state legislatures.

I am hopeful that the House of Representatives will soon consider this amendment so that we can make an another attempt at ratification.

Over the centuries, American men and women have valiantly fought to defend the stars and stripes. From the shores of Tripoli to the city streets of Baghdad, our brave military personnel have honored the freedoms for which our flag stands. It is only fitting to honor their service to the American people and to all citizens who fought to pledge allegiance and revere the flag by protecting this symbol of democracy from physical desecration.

A constitutional amendment is the only real measure that can protect Old Glory.