Flag burning should be illegal.

"but at the point when you tell someone that they can't burn a flag you are the Un-American one. " No. We have laws in this country that limit people from doing things that are considered, bad, harmful, unnecessary, rude, etc. Are you calling us all "Un-American" because we create laws? We are standing up for out country. Is it alright for people to shout "fire" in a crowded place? Is telling them to not do that "Un-American"? "This country was founded on the principles of freedom of expression." So, going on a shooting rampage due to hate is an expression. Are you saying that we should have the right to express ourselves by committing harmful hate crimes? It is the same logic, because they are both "expressions." "You being a conservative advocate for less government control, to advocate government control on this issue is to go against the principles of conservativeness." Should my personal beliefs be a part of this? Laws help to make our country stronger, safer, and a great place to live/be. If you live here, you should show pride and appreciation for the USA. "I sight the 1st amendment as the foundation of this point. My opponent on the other hand tries to discredit the 1st amendment by saying that speech and expression are two different things. This is not true, the precedent has been set countless times by the supreme court. Under by opponents theory people who could not talk would have no rights. " Speech and expression ARE two different things, so this totally disproves you point. Here is the first amendment. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." It gives us specific rights. It does not state that we have the right of expression. It also states that we can peacefully assemble and to petition. Flag burning is not considered "peaceful" because it can lead to disruption and then create riots. "America has tolerated the desecration of its flag for over a decade. The American flag is a representation of its people and its government. It embodies the struggle of 50 states towards the republic it now upholds. Therefore it is questionable, why one would dare to desecrate the American flag and all that it stands for. " Source: http://media.www.dailycampus.com... This was taken from a previous debate. "The flag of the United States of America has represented that nation, and all of its ideals, since its founding well over two hundred years ago. Burning something is the ultimate form of desecration. Therefore, to burn the flag is to desecrate the symbol of America and its ideals. This brings me to the contradiction inherent in the action: Burning the flag means spitting on the very principles that make your ability to do so even a remotely debatable topic. There's nothing wrong with criticizing your country, its leaders, or where they're taking the country; in fact, that's vital to the successful continuation of America. Burning the flag, however, does not fit anywhere into that proper dialogue. It should not, therefore, be allowed." http://www.debate.org... This is exactly my point. "However even if one did not want to believe this the 1st amendment also protects the right to assemble. Flag burning often happens in groups. " It clearly states that you can assemble peacefully. "It is a more preferable form of protest than most. Where as our politicians are bombarded with angry letters from citizens daily, our soldier are slandered by the news, our president is hated across the world; flag burning doesn't actually do anything except for burn a piece of cloth. It has no harmful effects on anyone except possibly the burner if they are not careful. This makes it much more preferable than forms of protest such as crime, true arson, parades (potentially clogging traffic), and many others. Even civil disobedience has draw backs that flag burning will never have." No it is not! It disrespects our country and its past. It just shows that you are angry or annoyed. Actually, I would much rather receive angry letters than seeing huge angry mobs of people marching down the street burning our country's symbol. What "draw backs" does civil disobedience has? It gets the point across to people what you are mad about. Also, if you are mad about something like a certain law, wouldn't it be better to protest that specific law rather than protesting our country? "It fuels the American economy. Who produces the flags? We do. Let them burn our flags all they want. To burn, they have to buy. If someone is stupid enough to burn an American flag let them do it." Not all flags are made in the US. Haven't you seen the tiny flags that they hand out at parades? They have those little gold stickers that say, "Made in China." Do we really want to profit from the hate acts of others? "Takes power from our enemies." They will still continue to burn the flags either way. Should we be more concerned about the "power" (if you would even call it that) of our enemies rather than the pride of our own country? Thanks and I await your rebuttal.