OPENING STATEMENT

Rep. Steve Chabot

Chairman, Subcommittee on the Constitution

Markup of the Flag Protection Amendment, H.J. RES. 4

May 7, 2003

            Pursuant to notice, I call up the bill, House Joint Resolution 4, a proposed constitutional amendment to restore authority to Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the American flag, for purposes of markup.

            The Subcommittee on the Constitution has convened this afternoon to markup House Joint Resolution 4, which would empower Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States. The subcommittee has just completed a hearing on the proposal, with witnesses testifying that a proposed constitutional amendment is the only means through which Congress may restore protection to our national symbol.

            The importance of today’s proposal cannot be understated. The flag is the most powerful symbol of the ideals upon which America was founded. It is a national asset that helps to preserve our unity, our freedom and our liberty as Americans. As our country has grown and welcomed those from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds, the flag’s power to unify our nation has become even more evident — bringing together all Americans, young and old, to champion those principles upon which this country was built.

            Vigilant protection of freedom of speech, in particular political speech, is central to our political system. However, until the recent Johnson and Eichman cases, punishing flag desecration had been viewed as compatible with both the letter and spirit of the First amendment. The Framers of the Constitution provide strong authority for such a conclusion, and both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison strongly supported government actions to prohibit flag desecration.

            The amendment would not, as some have argued, abridge long-held guarantees of free speech embodied in the First Amendment. First Amendment freedoms do not grant an individual an unlimited right to engage in any form of desired conduct under the cloak of free expression. Both state and federal criminal codes are full of examples of conduct that is prohibited in our country regardless of whether it is cloaked in the First Amendment. Obscenity laws, libel and slander laws, copyright laws, and even perjury laws all reflect the fact that some forms of expression, and sometimes even the content of that expression, may be regulated or even prohibited without violating the First Amendment.

            The Flag Protection Amendment is consistent with the First Amendment while reflecting society’s interest in maintaining the flag as a national symbol by protecting it from acts of physical desecration. It will not interfere with an individual’s ability to express his or her ideas, whatever they may be, by any other means.

            I would ask my colleagues to join me in restoring the original interpretation to the First Amendment that had persisted for over 200 years and, with that, the protection to the American flag. This amendment is now more important than ever, and is necessary in order to preserve our values for futures generations. With this in mind, I encourage the Members to pass this proposed amendment out of the Subcommittee today.

            Without objection, the bill will be considered as read and open for amendment at any point.