It will change the way we regard and the way the courts interpret each of the five freedoms of the First Amendment, as well as other parts of the Bill of Rights. It will consecrate the U.S. flag, thus desecrating the Bill of Rights, and make burning a flag tantamount to blasphemy. It will put this nation in league with governments that jail citizens who fail to treat their flags and other symbols of authority with proper respect. Coupled with the religious-equality amendment waiting in the wings and just as sure of ratification, the Flag Desecration Amendment puts the Bill of Rights on notice that it is no longer sacrosanct. Neither is our special standing as a nation among nations.
Every nation has a flag.
But only the United States of America has a Bill of Rights. Powerful emotions have brought us to this sad state. Good and sincere people don't understand why anyone would want to burn a flag, and they want to punish those who do so. It is difficult to understand why anyone would want to do something so offensive. But there are many Americans today who feel the government has been neither good to them nor responsive to their needs, who feel they have been denied a voice in the dialogue and debate.