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Constitution Minute
from Tea Party Patriots December 11, 2016 Alexandria Tea Party has been supporting the ‘We the People’ program for a couple of years now. You owe it to yourself to watch one of the competitions on YouTube. These kids really know their stuff, and watching them will restore your faith in the younger generation. ATP has a link to a good YouTube and more information about the ‘We the People’ program on its website. The link will be in the wrap-up. Now a word about something I said last week regarding flag-burning. A reader wrote in wondering why burning the flag is protected under the First Amendment when it is not literally speech, that is, someone speaking. For better or worse, the Supreme Court ruled a long time ago that conduct can be speech and protected under the First Amendment. Marching, picketing, and armbands are examples of conduct that obviously convey a message. To disallow all of that would severely limit the ability of people to express themselves. That said, not all expressive conduct is protected. The 1968 U.S. v. O’Brien case upheld a federal statute making it illegal to burn a draft card. The Supreme Court ruled in that case that the government had important interests beyond the suppression of speech in preventing people from burning their draft cards, interests having to do with the proper functioning of the military. The same cannot be said for burning U.S. flags and that’s the difference. A law banning flag-burning would serve no interest other than the suppression of speech, so the argument goes. I have a link in the wrap-up, if you want to explore further. Links ATP Promoting 'We The People' Constitution Curriculum and Competition http://alexandriateaparty.com/index.php?/en/article/index/273/1 United State v. O’Brien (upholding law against burning draft cards) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._O%27Brien Comments are closed.
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