US flag burning amendment approved by House
{{date|June 23, 2005}}

[[Image:Stars and Stripes.jpg|right|300px|thumb|A {{w|Flag of the United States|U.S. flag}} flies over [[New York City]].]]
<!--[[Image:Flag burn.gif|right|340px|Burning of the US flag]]-->
The [[United States]] [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] today passed an {{w|Constitutional amendment|amendment}} that would allow [[US Congress|Congress]] to prohibit the {{w|Flag desecration|physical desecration}} of the {{w|Flag of the United States}}. The bill (H.J.Res.10), whose main sponsor was {{w|Randy "Duke" Cunningham}} ({{w|Republican Party (US)|R}}-[[California|Calif.]]), was passed by a vote of 286 to 130. The required two-thirds was present. This is the fifth time a {{w|Flag Burning Amendment|flag burning amendment}} has passed the House. 

The bill will now move on to the [[United States Senate|Senate]], where it stands the best chance of passing ever. If a majority of two-thirds passes the bill, it will then move on to the states to be ratified with a seven-year window open on the ratification. Each time an amendment like this was passed in the House, it died in the Senate, the last time being in 2000.

An informal survey conducted by the Associated Press suggested that the vote will be close &mdash; 34 senators surveyed opposed the amendment, the exact number required to defeat it. However, supporters of the amendment are optimistic that the amendment will pass because four seats were gained by the Republicans in the election last November.

The amendment seeks to bypass the 1989 Supreme Court case ''{{w|Texas v. Johnson}}'' which ruled that desecration of the flag was legal; flag burning was established to be a form of protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  In [[New Zealand]], a 22-year-old law banning the destruction of their flag was also {{w|Flag burning|anchor=New Zealand|recently overturned}} as it was considered an act of free speech.

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0506230209jun23,1,343734.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed 
|title=Flag amendment clears House, goes to Senate
|author=Cynthia H. Cho
|pub=Chicago Tribune news
|date=June 23, 2005}}
*{{source|pub=Associated Press|title=House Approves Flag-Burning Amendment|date=June 22, 2005|author=Laurie Kellman|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5092184,00.html}}
*{{source|pub=Associated Press|title=House approves flag-burning amendment|date=June 22, 2005|author=Associated Press|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/22/congress.flagburning.ap/}}
*{{source|pub=Los Angeles Times|title=House Approves Amendment Prohibiting Flag Burning|date=June 22, 2005|author=Cynthia H. Cho|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-062205flag_lat,0,733821.story?coll=la-home-headlines}}
*{{source|pub=Reuters|title=House approves flag-protection amendment|date=June 22, 2005|author=Reuters|url=http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=8866001}}
*{{source|pub=Cox News Service|title=House passes flag protection amendment|date=June 22, 2005|author=Bob Dart|url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0622flagamend22.html}}

==External links==
*[http://www.house.gov U.S. House of Representatives]
*[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.j.res.00010:  Information on House bill (H.J.RES.10)]
*[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll296.xml House vote results for H.J.RES.10]
*[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.J.RES.10: Text of H.J.RES.10]

{{Publish}}

{{PD-Article}}
{{archive}}
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:US Congress]]
[[Category:US House of Representatives]]
[[Category:US Senate]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Free speech]]
[[Category:Constitution of the United States]]

[[pt:EUA aprovam emenda que pune quem queimar a bandeira americana]]
A U.S. flag flies over New York City.

The United States House of Representatives today passed an amendment that would allow Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), was passed by a vote of 286 to 130. The required two-thirds was present. This is the fifth time a flag burning amendment has passed the House. 

The bill will now move on to the Senate, where it stands the best chance of passing ever. If a majority of two-thirds passes the bill, it will then move on to the states to be ratified with a seven-year window open on the ratification. Each time an amendment like this was passed in the House, it died in the Senate, the last time being in 2000.

An informal survey conducted by the Associated Press suggested that the vote will be close — 34 senators surveyed opposed the amendment, the exact number required to defeat it. However, supporters of the amendment are optimistic that the amendment will pass because four seats were gained by the Republicans in the election last November.

The amendment seeks to bypass the 1989 Supreme Court case Flag burning|anchor=New Zealand|recently overturned as it was considered an act of free speech.


EUA aprovam emenda que pune quem queimar a bandeira americana
United States North America US Congress US House of Representatives US Senate Politics and conflicts Free speech Constitution of the United States