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Protect Our Flag
Jim Cassidy

Protect Our Flag   Senior Moments with Jim Cassidy   Freedom of Speech should never be used as an excuse for the United States’ flag to be burned or otherwise desecrated by radical protesters in the United States of America.

Flag burning was once considered a criminal offense, but since the liberal courts have sided with the vocal few and not the majority of Americans, desecration of our most precious symbol is now considered “an expression of Freedom of Speech.”

Veterans organizations and Americans everywhere are irate over this situation and want Congress to correct it now.

The American Legion National Commander, Thomas L. Rock, sends us the following message on this pressing subject: “From the grassroots level, the American Legion has made the flag a campaign issue for our politicians and a moral issue for America since 1989.  It’s a moral issue on which most Americans stand with us.  Scientific polls sponsored by the American Legion and The Citizens Flag Alliance prove an overwhelming majority of Americans want the nation’s most revered symbol protected.”

 “Despite that, some of your senators and representatives have failed to reflect the views of their constituents on this issue.  An Amendment giving Congress the power to protect the flag overwhelmingly has passed in the House of Representatives six times since 1995; and the two times since then that the measure has gone before the Senate, it’s come within four votes of passage.  When the Amendment hasn’t gone to a vote, it’s typically been because of stalling on the part of its opponents.  But with the support the Amendment currently has in the Senate, we have never been closer to passage then we are right now.”

Some recent changes in the Senate have given Americans hope for passage of this much wanted flag protection Amendment.  Commander Rock continues to say, “We believe we will have the vote again in the Senate, leaving us one vote short.  The opportunity to pick up that vote has never been better.”

“It’s critical for Legion family members and all Veterans Organizations to contact their senators no matter what stance they may have.  Thank those who support the Amendment, S.J. Res. 12, and ask them for their continued support.  If your senators are opposed, ask them why, and ask them to reconsider.”

A small group of senators believes a statute will be enough to protect the flag, but that route has been tried in the past.  It failed.

The Supreme Court decision has left no other option by which the people can pass laws protecting their flag from physical desecration.  Congress tried the Flag Protection Act of 1989, and it was ruled unconstitutional.  Scholars agree that a constitutional amendment is necessary before a statute will stand.

The U.S. flag is more than red, white and blue, more than stars and stripes sewn together. It was the symbol hoisted at Iwo Jima and at Ground Zero. It’s the symbol that reminds our service members why they are putting their lives in peril, and it’s the symbol draped over the caskets of those service members who have paid the ultimate price defending America’s freedoms. A symbol that has meant so many things to so many people for so long — one that stands for the American values we all treasure — deserves to be treated with the utmost respect.  We can make that happen this year.

God Bless our Troops and their families who are now fighting to protect our freedoms and liberties, and God Bless America.

We need to rally support for the flag.  It is important to secure Senate backing to assure that the flag amendment has the supermajority needed to pass.  Please call Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s office in Boston at 617-565-3170 and Senator John Kerry’s Boston’s office at 617-565-8519 and urge them to support S.J. Res. 12. The senators may also be reached by e-mail at senator@kennedy.senate.gov and http://kerry.senate.gov/low/contact email.html. Remind them that time is of the essence in getting this bill passed.  

Jim is Vice-Commander of American Legion Post #219. He served as a combat infantryman in WWII, fighting in France and Germany with the 70th Infantry Division. Jim Cassidy was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in World War II. You can email him with questions or comments at: Cassperryst@aol.com

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The April -2006 Edition of the Valley Patriot
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