[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 92 (Friday, June 25, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AUTHORIZING CONGRESS TO PROHIBIT THE PHYSICAL 
              DESECRATION OF THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RONNIE SHOWS

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 1999

  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 33, 
which would outlaw the physical desecration of the American Flag.
  Our Flag represents the cherished freedoms Americans enjoy to the 
envy of others.
  To our Nation's veterans and military retirees, it is a constant 
reminder of the ultimate sacrifice they have made.
  Destroying our flag is an affront to all Americans, but to our 
veterans and military retirees it is much more than that.
  Our veterans and military retirees have put their lives on the line 
for our country, and the American flag is the one thing they can hold 
and say: ``This is what I have defended with my life.''
  My father was a prisoner-of-war in World Ware II, captured at the 
Battle of the Bulge. He fought to protect our democratic freedoms.
  But, Madam. Speaker, he did not fight to let Americans destroy the 
very symbol of their own freedoms that he was willing to die for.
  Destroying the flag is tantamount to physically assaulting those 
heroes who would lay down their lives for their country.
  It is against the law for one American to assault another. And so 
should it be against the law for one American to assault an entire 
class of American heroes.
  Madam Speaker, we need to honor America's heroes and pass this 
amendment.