Personally, I oppose the passage of an amendment to the Constitution banning flag-burning. I consider it to be a case of using a Trident missle to kill a mosquito. But that said, I am not at all troubled by the possibility that it may finally get enough votes to go to the states for possible ratification.

Sometime between now and the Fourth of July, the Senate plans to revisit what over the course of 17 years has become a seasonal rite of patriotism on Capitol Hill: a vote on whether to amend the Constitution to ban protesters from burning the American flag.

Each time, the arguments on both sides are passionate. Each time, the support needed to move ahead with an amendment falls short.

But this year could be different, as two important trends cross paths.

For one, proponents of the amendment appear to have more support than ever in the Senate. They say they are within one vote of the two-thirds majority they need. The House already has backed the amendment. A majority of Americans say they support a flag amendment, and over time all 50 states have passed some form of resolution urging Congress to act.

"We believe once the amendment moves off of Capitol Hill it will be the swiftest-ratified amendment in the history of the nation," said Marty Justis of Indianapolis, a Navy veteran and executive director of the Citizens' Flag Alliance, which for years has led the campaign. He and other supporters will be back on Capitol Hill on Wednesday -- Flag Day -- trying to round up and lock in support.

At the same time, some polling indicates Americans' once-robust support for a flag amendment is waning and could be tough to recapture for many years if it slips below 50 percent. That has amendment opponents -- a mix of liberals, free-speech activists and conservatives who believe the Constitution should never or almost never be amended -- determined to stave off Senate passage.

"This is very generational -- basically, if this doesn't pass the next Congress or two, it's a dying issue," said Terri Ann Schroeder, a senior lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes the amendment as an infringement on free speech.

There has been a call for this amendment for many years. It has strong support. Let's see what the states do with it, in response to the will of the people. I'll be out campaigning against it. But if it passes, it will be in response to the will of the American people -- and that is not a bad thing, in my book.

Posted by: Greg at 11:16 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment
Post contains 445 words, total size 3 kb.