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Free Speech Threatened by One Vote!
Call your Senators - Urge them to Vote NO on the proposed Flag-Burning Amendment! The U.S. House of Representatives has always voted in favor of a flag protection amendment and the Senate has always blocked such attempts to limit free expression - but now the tide has turned. Proponents of this amendment need 67 votes. They have 66. Individual states have already expressed a desire to ratify this amendment. If this vote clears the Senate, for the first time since prohibition, a constitutional amendment will LIMIT individual liberties, rather than advance them. Desecration of the flag, however offensive, is symbolic of one of our critical liberties: the freedom to criticize our government. If Congress is given the power to restrict this form of expression simply because it is "disrespectful", it's not hard to imagine what other opinions it will try to restrict next. Your senators represent you. Speak up!! Ask them to vote against the flag desecration amendment. We particularly urge New Jersey residents to encourage Senator Menendez to vote against the proposed amendment. Freedom of speech and the right of peaceful protest are essential to an open, representative democracy and must be protected! Please contact your sentors today by calling the Capitol Switchboard directly (202-224-3121) or by sending the email message below. Thank You!
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , I am writing to urge you to vote against S.J. Resolution 12, the "Flag Desecration Amendment." Over 200 years ago, our founding documents declared and protected freedom of conscience and expression and made America the envy of the world. Though such freedoms allowed for dissent and protest, our founders knew the right of free speech - speech free of coercion, restriction, or punishment - was paramount to a civil and democratic society. Now, however, political grandstanding over the symbol of freedom threatens to cheapen the value of freedom itself. The current attempt to protect the flag from desecration amounts to censorship and criminalizes free expression simply because that expression is disrespectful. Clearly, those who support this amendment - citizens and senators alike - do not understand the principle whose symbol they claim to defend. Furthermore, at a time when Americans are besieged by serious challenges - the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a massive national debt, soaring healthcare and energy costs - the timing of this vote reeks of political pandering. This amendment offers no solutions and solves no problems, but it consumes valuable time and resources. It is a diversion and a distraction and represents a dereliction of congressional duty. I understand that a "yes" vote is politically tempting right now, but I hope you will find the strength to rise above this election-year political game. Instead, I urge you to use this issue as an opportunity to speak out about the importance of free speech and free expression, for these principles were not just valuable to America's founders - they are the key to America's future. Please vote against the so-called "Flag Desecration Amendment."
Sincerely, |
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| Background Information |
Once again, the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress are attempting to distract the public with radical and anti-American calls to alter our Constitution.
In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag is a constitutionally protected form of free speech. Since then, pro-flag/anti-free-speech activists have lobbied to bypass the Court with a constitutional amendment that would give congress the authority to "prohibit the physical desecration of the flag" - effectively empowering congress to limit free expression because it is "disrespectful."
The proposed Flag Burning amendment is a direct affront to free speech. It elevates the symbol of freedom above the actual value of freedom. It carves out an unnecessary exception to freedom of expression and sets a dangerous precedent. What other expression or speech might be deemed disrespectful and, therefore, prohibited?
Every time we curb freedom of speech, even just a little, we undermine our democracy and the argument that democracy works. Join us in calling our senators - urge them to reject this dangerous election-year ploy. Encourage them, instead, to stand up for our precious freedom of speech.
