[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 12, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROHIBIT PHYSICAL DESECRATION OF THE FLAG

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                               speech of

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 28, 1995
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the constitutional 
amendment which would ban desecration of the flag. House Joint 
Resolution 79 would--for the first time in our Nation's history--modify 
the Bill of Rights to limit our freedom of expression, a preeminent 
human right and one which is central to fostering all other forms of 
freedom.
  I firmly believe that one of the unique and special characteristics 
of our democracy is that we uphold the freedom of expression even when 
we do not believe in or approve of the statement being made. As former 
Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote in 1984, ``punishing 
desecration of the flag dilutes the very freedom that makes this emblem 
so revered, and worth revering.''
  It would be a hollow form of patriotism to coerce reverence for 
national symbols at the expense of real constitutional rights. 
Prohibiting dissent and lawful freedom of expression is the hallmark of 
totalitarian states like China and North Korea, not of great 
democracies like our own.
  I urge my colleagues to reject this amendment. Voting against House 
Joint Resolution 79 is a vote for the Constitution and for the Bill of 
Rights.


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