Flag Desecration Law and Legal Definition
Flag desecration is the act of intentionally destroying, damaging, or mutilating a flag. This is usually done in public and often destruction is caused to a national flag. The Flag destruction is considered as a part of right to free speech under the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court in Tex. v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (U.S. 1989) established that the defacing a flag is an act of protected speech under the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Flag desecration is a controversial issue and the U.S. Congress has decided to bring in an amendment to tackle with the same. The indented constitutional amendment called the Flag Desecration Amendment or the Flag Burning Amendment makes provisions that would allow the U.S. Congress to statutorily prohibit expression of political views through the physical desecration of the flag of the U.S.
