[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 76 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       ANTI-FLAG DESECRATION AMENDMENT GAINS SUPPORT OF 43 STATES

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 15, 1994

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, after celebrating Flag Day yesterday, it is 
an appropriate time to take a moment to honor the symbol of our Nation: 
the American flag.
  It was 217 years ago on June 14, 1777, that the Continental Congress 
adopted a resolution that gave us the American flag, known 
affectionately as the Stars and Stripes or Old Glory. And the world we 
live in today, just like the world which generations of Americans have 
lived in before us, is the best of the times and the worst of times. 
But at all times, America has honored this most special symbol of the 
strongest and freest nation on Earth.
  Protecting the American flag remains a cause which is dear to my 
heart, not to mention to the hearts and minds of millions of Americans 
all across this land. People fought and died for the constitutional 
rights we hold so dear. However, the Constitution was not at Saratoga 
or Gettysburg or San Juan Hill or Normandy or the Pork Chop Hill or Khe 
Sanh or Kuwait City. Instead, the flag which embodied those rights was 
at all of those battles and many, many more. No wonder then that 
veterans and their families have such outrage when they see someone 
burning or otherwise desecrating the flag for political reasons.
  Some folks condone this type of activity or surrender to those who 
portray it as a form of free expression. Well, while five unelected 
Justices of the Supreme Court say that the Constitution does not permit 
an antiflag desecration statute today, there is no good reason why we 
cannot pass a constitutional amendment to allow Congress to penalize 
this conduct. And I'm not alone on this point. The legislatures of 43 
States have passed memorializing resolutions calling on Congress to 
amend the Constitution to prohibit flag desecration.
  For the record, the States which passed these resolutions include: 
(1) Alabama, (2) Alaska, (3) Arizona, (4) Arkansas, (5) California, (6) 
Colorado, (7) Connecticut, (8) Delaware, (9) Florida, (10) Georgia, 
(11) Idaho, (12) Illinois, (13) Indiana, (14) Kansas, (15) Louisiana, 
(16) Maine, (17) Maryland, (18) Massachusetts, (19) Michigan, (20) 
Minnesota, (21) Mississippi, (22) Missouri, (23) Montana, (24) 
Nebraska, (25) Nevada, (26) New Hampshire, (27) New Jersey, (28) New 
Mexico, (29) New York, (30) North Dakota, (31) Ohio, (32) Oklahoma, 
(33) Pennsylvania, (34) Rhode Island, (35) South Carolina, (36) South 
Dakota, (37) Tennessee, (38) Texas, (39) Utah, (40) Virginia, (41) West 
Virginia, (42) Wisconsin, and (43) Wyoming. State passing such 
resolutions in one chamber only include: North Carolina, Oregon, 
Washington, and Vermont.

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