ABSTRACT
The Supreme Court confronted the issue of flag burning head-on in Texas v. Johnson, 491 US 397. Gregory Johnson was among a group of protesters outside the Republican Party's national convention in 1984. Asserting that the flag burning was indeed expressive conduct, he then asked whether Texas had any interest in supporting Johnson's conviction that was not related to suppressing his expression. A national uproar followed the Court's ruling, and numerous members of Congress proposed a constitutional amendment to prohibit flag desecration. Met with opposition from civil liberties groups and many of its own members, Congress instead passed the Flag Protection Act of 1989. Burning or otherwise desecrating the flag remains repugnant to the great majority of Americans, but most people understand and appreciate the depth of commitment to civil liberties that drives a nation to protect even those who find its policies repugnant.
