By Caroline Tucker
WASHINGTON –(WMAL) President-elect Donald Trump is proposing some harsh penalties for people who burn the American flag.
On Twitter, he suggested that people who burn flags should face jail time or even lose their citizenship.
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
On Tuesday, a Trump spokesperson backed Trump up on CNN.
“Flag burning should be illegal, end of story,” said Jason Miller, a spokesperson for the Trump transition.
However, flag burning is protected by the First Amendment.
There are also two U.S. Supreme Court rulings which back up that protection.
“It’s a repellent act but we so value free speech that we even permit or protect the right of people to use that mechanism in public protest,” said Gene Policinski, senior vice president of the First Amendment Center.
The First Amendment Center is located at the Newseum, which is just down the street from the White House and the Trump International Hotel in D.C.
The center provides educational insight into issues surrounding the First Amendment.
Policinski says numerous polls have shown that most Americans do not agree with burning the U.S. flag.
However, he says what Trump is suggesting would require a constitutional amendment.
“What if someone burns a replica of an American flag that isn’t the American flag? Well, criminal statues have to be narrowly drawn, you don’t get arrested for sort of, maybe, almost robbing a bank. You either do it or you don’t,” said Policinski. “It won’t stop flag burning. I think the most powerful weapon against flag burning is to either ignore it or have that outpouring of public support of the flag that normally accompanies something like that,” he said.
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: CNN)
