1 It definitely is a bad idea. I say let the moonbats parade their hate before the world for all to see.

2 Yes. Why make a martyr out of some flag-ripping twerp.

3 It would take us one step closer in the wrong direction. Muslims treat desecration of the Koran as a criminal offense. This would be no different. Do we know who sponsored this legislation? I'll have a look. It's probably a damn Republican.

4 "It would take us one step closer in the wrong direction. Muslims treat desecration of the Koran as a criminal offense. This would be no different." I agree, but it's not a perfect analogy, though. It depends on what a person is desecrating.

5 Why make a martyr out of some guy in flag boxers?

6 Yep, Congressman Don Sherwood (R-PA).

7 A ploy for votes from the outraged???

8 Just a flag. What's the big deal? Already desecrated completely anyway, it's even used as an underwear pattern. Thousands of people have it stuck in their buttcrack everyday. If someone is stupid enough to start ripping or burning flags, then charge them for littering or for endangering stuff with fire.

9 Im very torn on this issue thats for sure....yes, the American flag is juat that, a flag, made of cloth with colors and stripes and stars...a symbol of the United States of America....but, i guess like what the good Dr mentioned is how much do you allow it to happen, how do you know hen they {those who burn the US flag} are testing to see how far they can push the envelope???....i mean, its like kids, give em an inch, they take a yard....do we allow Islamicnazis to see how far they can push us before we act???...what if these idiots start burning them all over the US, what do we, the citizens, do???....stand there and let these assholes do it or do we intervene and let them know we arent going to take it anymore???....i find it all very hard on what is proper to do on this issue....wont these idiots who do burn the flag, wether they be liberal American idiots or Muslim idiots who live in the US, see us as weak if we give them their "rights" to burn the flag while we say and do really nothing, and wont that provoke them to do even more harm???....i dont know....i would like some input on this from the other people here, the deep thinkers...i was never one too think too deep, im more of an action person though i do try hard these days to think more....anyone???

10 Deep thinkers? Big Guy is over on that other thread.

11 Arggh, this makes me so mad. I need some help from you all on this one. There are already rules out there on how to treat a flag and those rules are not being enforced. For example- only one person in this country can have a US flag flying on his car- any guesses? You cannot leave a flag outside over night, it should never touch the ground, etc. I am sure Carlos or any other vets know these rules by heart. And interestingly, what is one to do if a flag does touch the ground? Burn it. Yup. Seems a bit confusing that our government is trying to make illegal what is required. Obviously at issue is intent, which is a useless thing to try and legislate. Seeing as it was just Flag Day, you think someone in the MSM would have addressed this, but no. Did see a guy teaching his grandson how to properly fold a flag though- made my day.

12 So it's okay to desecrate the flag but not the koran eh? Why didn't someone tell me we'd lost the war?

13 My point earlier, IM. They're NOT the same thing. One is a symbol of our country, the other a justification for hatered, murder, and terrorism. (And I know what the Lefties are going to say now.)

14 Big Dud???....uuuummmmm, nope , ill take a pass on that....ive seen his posts and he must be a crack baby.....ill wait for someone a little less, ummmmm, insane

15 I say banning burning flags is a bad idea. The military burn flags that are to be destroyed, because they have been damaged, or rendered unusable. After seeing some of the scum that actual burn the flag, they've already been damaged irrepairable by their mere touch anyway.

16 As a christian, I'm accostomed to Liberals desecrating christian symbols, and though offended, would not ask that it be illegal to do so. So I'm even less inclined to see flag burning made illegal. What are these people thinking?

17 I'm sure there are many Muslims that hope it's made illegal or that a bunch of us will go crazy and tear up a town and kill people over its desecration. It'll give them the satisfaction they want and every anti-American idiot in the world will scream hypocrisy. We can't act like they do. YBP: I know it's not the perfect analogy, but it'll do. I'm talking more about the repercussions than the act itself or the object being abused.

18 Our flag is a million times more than just a piece of cloth. Yes, it's a symbol, but of what? If the flag represents anything at all, it represents the freedom to burn it. Ironical, I know, but that's my take.

19 As an ex-Marine captain (yes there is such a thing...) serving (sic.) in Vietnam on 3 combat tours, I can really go for the "gung-ho" attitude for not disgracing/desecrating of our flag, a cloth rectangle representing an idealism countless souls have lost their lives over. I display the flag and respect it, just as I do the Dutch, French, U.K., Belgium, Jamaica, etc. etc... flags. Victors in battle lower the flags of their defeted foe have the option of stomping, spitting on, stabbing, urinating on, setting fire to and raising there own. Billions have died over flags.....for what?....Certainly not for the goverments to tell these survivors meant to reap the freedom from sacrifices of their peers. Hell no.....let them burn it, rip it, tear it and whatever else they feel to do. It's not the freedom of an action here, it's the freedom of thought at question here. I have the freedom to ignore the actions and thoughts of the desecrating person(s) commiting these displays of thought, therefore I do. And I honor mine, salute in sometimes, fly it half staff at befitting times and otherwise would never harm mine , but may burn, mutilate and desecrate an Al Qaeda flag. Oh well sue me, but NEVER try taking away my fredom of thought, I may just ram ya with my flag and pole defending my freedoms. Mad Dog in Poquoson, Virginia

20 The fact that they want to desecrate the flag says something about its status. That's why I'm against destroying Korans. We shouldn't put them on the same level as our flag. Destroying them does.

21 For me, Burning the flag should only be illegal if such an action would cause physical harm, much like yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater and freedom of speech. There are many times when I think it would be nice if a group or idea would just go away, (the kkk, neo nazis are some examples), but I do feel they have the right to their own ideas. Now I would like to see all flag burners ( protest flag burners) that resides in the US to vacate. If the US is so bad, get the hell out. Max, I believe there is one exception to the flag overnight, and that is if the outpost is under siege,then it remains up until the siege is lifted or the outpost surrenders or are killed. One more interesting fact about the US and State flags, all state flags should be flown at a lower level the the US flag except for one. Any Guess? That's right, Texas, since it earned the right because it was it's own nation for 10 years. As for Carlos, what Christian symbols have been descrated? I know there have alot of effort to reduce these symbols from public offices, which is the way it should be. With US culture today being more and more influnce by non Christian people (like Hindi, Buddist) I believe we should respect their rights as well as ours. If you would like to have a stone tablet of the 10 Commandments in a court house, would it be okay to have a mural of the Indian Gods in a Federal building? Or even worse, a tablet of Commandments from a satanic bible?

22 "know there have alot of effort to reduce these symbols from public offices, which is the way it should be. With US culture today being more and more influnce by non Christian people (like Hindi, Buddist) I believe we should respect their rights as well as ours. If you would like to have a stone tablet of the 10 Commandments in a court house, would it be okay to have a mural of the Indian Gods in a Federal building? Or even worse, a tablet of Commandments from a satanic bible? " Butch, old friend: I think the solution is not to step aside and beg pardon, but to assert the Judaeo/Christian principles upon which the country was founded.

23 But if assert the Judeao/Christian principles we will be denying the political aspects that was the main reason for coming to America, Freedom of Religion, and Seperation of Church and State. Now I do not mind a moment of silence in schools, because everyone can pray or sleep if they want for that moment. But to force a Buddist to say the lord's prayer would only be right by forcing Christians to recite several Buddist mantras. I do believe that one should not mix politics and religion.

24 Butch: It's hard to imagine laws concerning theft, physical abuse, murder, etc., that don't involve morality to some extent. And I agree, as does the Catholic faith, that no one should be forced to pray (or belong to its organization, for that matter). I can deal with a moment of silence. Hey, what are your thoughts on having kids say "The Pledge of Allegiance"? Should that be voluntary? Forced? Done at all?

25 Why, WHY exactly do you need to burn the flag? You realise your opinions on these blogs don't actually ever reach the real world, it's just a bunch of punk-unappreciative democrats saying that "I don't have free speach unless I can burn the flag!" Well then I don't have free speach unless I can punch you multiple times for burning the flag. Have you ever seen a picture of soldiers raising a flag on top of a hill? Men gave their lives and rushed into battle just so they could raise that flag. It DOES represent America, and if you don't like America, just move. Find another country that gives you as many freedoms as you have here- or quit complaining. If you're so smart and you can use your huge words, then take it somewhere that matters. Contact CNN or something, they'll agree with you. Or contact Fox if you want a fight. Let's put it like this- our flag is like our avatar for our name. It just goes along with it. The only reason you want to burn the flag is because you don't believe that you have free-speach if you can't. Try doing HALF of the stuff you do here in America in any other country, and I guarantee you you won't be able to. It's not like America's forcing you to stay here. Anyways, one last time so one of you can answer with some sort of bullshit response ----> Why do you want to burn the flag?

26 If you want the freedom to destroy the flag which REPRESENTS the very freedom that you have, then you would be destroying your very own freedom (in a sense) which would be saying that you do not WANT this freedom, so why would you be against banning it in the first place? No one's forcing you to stand up and pledge ot the national anthem (although 85% of the people there may hate you for it) you still have your own opinion on it. You can ignore constitution and the flag and all the stuff that you hate for giving you freedom and go start an anarchyst colony in Brazil and have your own Anarchist flag (with the Circular A thing) and then burn it and everyone will say 'man, why'd you burn that it represents our complete and total disregard for anything civilized in the world, I'm gonna fucking kill you!' but then you're not really accomplishing anything better than this ammendment. In fact it's worse. If you're an anarchist (I'm sure 60% of you are) then why do you have a symbol? Would you burn it if it were on a flag? No, because it represents all that you were for. Grow up and realise the fact that you can't be proud that you live in the greatest country in the world is wrong. Thousands of people died just so you could live at home, go wherever you want, and eat whatever you want. You won't know how painful it is to be shot in the chest or have your leg cut off without any anesthetics until you actually do. I've been shot before (in my leg) and it is impossible to describe the intense amounts of pain you feel surge through your leg when an inch long 500 degree piece of metal lodges itself in your thigh. Try it out, it's loads of fun.

27 YBP, when it comes to morality and laws, I get most of my believes from the idea of the social contract. I'm sure you have heard of that. As such, it is not so much the morality I am looking for from society but the protection that society brings. That is why I feel church and state should be seperate. As for the Pledge, I feel it should be voluntary. My reason is because I can feel that the United States has enough people who love it, that we don't need to force anyone to pretend to. And because it is our country, I think we should have the right to say it if we want. As for the under god part, I also feel that if a person wants to leave that part out, fine, but I am going to say it. Another reason I thing it should be voluntary is I imagine a foreign national who loves his country, but his/her parents are here for an extended business stay. The student may want to leave and return to his home country one day. (It could happen : ) )

28 Corrections Beliefs not believes think nto thing

29 Interesting comments, Butch--Thank you.

30 Any Constitutional amendment against flag desecration is bad. State laws already dictate a pledge of allegiance to the flag daily in many schools. Why is it that flag fetishists who tout flag laws don't chant the pledge every day? Their hypocrisy masks the old dark desire to make children and adults worship government daily at the ring of a government bell. Please oppose the amendment, and educate everyone about these new historical discoveries: 1. The original Pledge of Allegiance to the USA's flag used a straight-armed salute and it was the source of the salute of the monstrous National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis). The gesture was not an ancient Roman salute. http://rexcurry.net/pledgesalute.html 2. The Pledge began with a military salute that then extended outward toward the flag. Due to the way that Francis Bellamy (the Pledge's creator) used the gestures, the military salute led to the Nazi salute. The Nazi salute is an extended military salute. http://rexcurry.net/pledge2.html & http://rexcurry.net/pledge_military.html 3. Bellamy was a self-proclaimed socialist in the nationalism movement and his dogma influenced socialists in Germany, and his pledge was the origin of their salute. Many people forget that "Nazi" means "National Socialist German Workers' Party." A mnemonic device is the swastika (Hakenkreuz in German). Although the swastika was an ancient symbol, it was also used sometimes to represent "S" letters joined for "socialism" under the German National Socialists. Hitler altered his own signature into the same stylized "S" letter for "socialist." http://rexcurry.net/bookchapter4a1a4.html How the discoveries were made is a fascinating story in itself. I made the discoveries by accident during legal research involving litigation about the pledge. As a libertarian lawyer, I do pro bono work educating students and others about the right to reject the ritualism. Fight the flag hags and their flag fetish. Government's schools should not teach kids to verbally fellate flags each morning. It is like a brainwashed cult of the omnipotent state. For adults it is childish. Remove the pledge from the flag, remove flags from schools, remove schools from government. A flag desecration amendment would be a desecration of the Constitution. Our leviathan government and its schools, and Bellamy and the Department of Education could inspire a comatose person to desecrate the flag, to pledge disallegiance, and to recite the declaration of independence. The Bellamy dogma was the same dogma that led to the "Wholecaust" (of which the Holocaust was a part): 62 million killed under the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; 35 million under the Peoples' Republic of China; 21 million under the National Socialist German Workers' Party. It was so bad that Holocaust Museums could quadruple in size with Wholecaust Museums to document the entire slaughter. In the USA, the Bellamy dogma supported a government takeover of education. The government's schools imposed segregation by law and taught racism as official policy. The USA's behavior was an example for three decades before the Nazis. As under Nazism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and blacks and the Jewish and others in the USA attended government schools that dictated segregation, taught racism, and persecuted children who refused to perform the straight-arm salute and robotically chant the pledge. Some kids were expelled from government schools and had to use the many better alternatives. There were acts of violence. When Jesse Owens competed in the 1936 Olympics in Germany, his neighbors attended segregated government schools where they saluted the flag with the Nazi salute. The U.S. practice of official racism even outlasted the horrid party. And the schools and the Pledge still exist. The Pledge is still the most visible sign of the USA's growing police state. Stop the USA's flag Nazis. Listen to a new talk-show appearance by RexCurry.net about the flag and the pledge http://rexcurry.net/rexcurry4.mp3 A more detailed version of the article above is at http://rexcurry.net/book1a1a1pledge-ch8a1a2.html

31 Section 176 Respect for flag No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor. (a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property. (b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise. (c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free. (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general. (e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way. (f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling. (g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature. (h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything. (i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkin or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown. (j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart. (k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. SO WHEN I SEE A BUNCH OF IDIOTS BURNING THE FLAG I THINK TO MYSELF, HUM, THE FLAG DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FITTING EMBLEM FOR DISLPLAY, SO THESE PEOPLE MUST BE DESTROYING IT, PERFERABLY BY BURNING