[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18566-S18567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PROTECTING THE FIRST AMENDMENT

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I did not support the effort 
yesterday to begin writing exceptions into the first amendment of our 
Constitution. The first amendment protects the right of free speech, no 
matter how unpopular or offensive that speech is. The Court interprets 
this to include the right of people to burn a flag if a person so 
chooses. Presumably, the Court would reach the same conclusion with 
regard to a person's right to burn the Constitution or even the Bill of 
Rights itself.
  Modern technology has given us the ability to see political protest, 
including the burning of flags, as it occurs around the world--in 
Tiananmen Square, in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and in South 
Africa. We are not only able to see the political protest, we are also 
able to see those governments step in to prevent that expression, to 
limit that speech, and to silence dissent and criticism aimed at those 
in power.
  This proposed constitutional amendment would sanction that same type 
of 

[[Page S18567]]
repressive action by our own Government. And such repression would not 
be permitted only when people are disturbing the peace, but also when 
they are trying to dramatize their strongly held political views. Like 
most citizens, I might find many of those political views offensive. 
But I am not willing to amend the Constitution to permit States and the 
Federal Government to restrict the expression of those views.
  It distresses me to see the symbol of our great Republic mocked and 
desecrated.
  But I am not so foolish as to mutilate those values themselves. The 
strength of our country is in large part due to the fact that we 
tolerated the expression of unpopular views. It does not strengthen us 
as a nation to begin, by constitutional amendment, to restrict the 
right of political expression. It does not protect our Nation to 
diminish the very liberties which have made us the envy of all mankind.
  Mr. President, it seems that this issue surfaces every 4 or 5 years 
usually before Presidential elections. We spoke about this issue before 
the last Presidential election and we debate the issue again now.
  Mr. President, one point which has come home to me time and again 
since I have been in the Senate, is that the Framers of our 
Constitution did a marvelous thing when they wrote that document and 
when they added to it the Bill of Rights. Not only did they produce a 
document embodying our most precious values and a system of government 
to advance and protect those values, they also had the wisdom to 
anticipate the very type of effort to silence unpopular expression. 
They anticipated it, and they guarded against it by requiring changes 
in the Constitution to be accomplished only by a two-thirds vote of 
both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and then by the 
approval of three-quarters of the legislatures of our States.
  Those requirements have served us well in the present debate. I am 
glad that the necessary two-thirds vote to approve this amendment was 
not achieved in this Senate. I am heartened to hear the strong 
statements of many of my colleagues against the amendment.
  What about the public reaction to all of this? Recent polls show that 
a majority of Americans favor such a constitutional amendment and 
indicate that they would be inclined to vote against a Representative 
or Senator who opposed it.
  I would like to believe that, given time for additional reflection, 
most Americans would have a different view. I would like to believe 
that those of us in public life have a responsibility and opportunity 
to persuade our fellow citizens on this issue.
  Time will tell whether my beliefs are well-founded.
  I cast my vote against this proposed amendment with the satisfaction 
of knowing that I have done what is clearly right.

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