The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
November 30, 2016

Trump Proposes Doubly Unconstitutional Punishment for Flag Burning
------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald Trump also sparked controversy on Tuesday when he made two
unconstitutional proposals in a single tweet, writing, "Nobody should be
allowed to burn the American flag–if they do, there must be
consequences–perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!" The
Supreme Court has ruled twice that flag burning is protected under the
First Amendment. The Supreme Court has also ruled it's unconstitutional
to strip people of citizenship for most crimes, including desertion. In
a 1958 ruling, Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren wrote, "The deprivation
of citizenship is not a weapon that the Government may use to express
its displeasure at a citizen's conduct, however reprehensible that
conduct may be."


.