Womack Introduces Constitutional Amendment to Protect U.S. Flag from Desecration
Washington,
February 3, 2017
Tags:
Veterans
Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3), joined by Congressmen Steven Palazzo (MS-4), Bradley Byrne (AL-1), Robert Aderholt (AL-4), Trent Franks (AZ-8), Paul Cook (CA-8), Ralph Abraham (LA-5), Jeff Fortenberry (NE-1), Mark Amodei (NV-2), Bill Johnson (OH-6), Joe Wilson (SC-2), Marsha Blackburn (TN-7), Pete Olson (TX-22), and Evan Jenkins (WV-3), introduced H.J.Res. 61, a joint resolution which restores Congress’s constitutional authority to ban the desecration of the United States flag.
Until invalidated by the 1989 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Texas v. Johnson, 48 states had laws banning flag desecration. H.J.Res. 61 reinstates the American people’s power to protect our most important national symbol by granting Congress the authority to prohibit Upon introduction, Congressman Womack released the below statement: “Americans from every generation have laid down their lives to protect our flag – the worldwide symbol of freedom and democracy. As the stewards of their memory and sacrifice, it is our duty to ensure that generations in the future understand their service was not in vain. The American people have simply given too much for the flag to not have the ability to protect it.” Members of Congress have bipartisanly supported the passage of this amendment since the 1989 Supreme Court decision. To date, a joint resolution giving Congress power to prohibit the physical desecration of the American flag has been passed by the House six times, most recently in 2005. The final text of the joint resolution can be found here.
Congressman Steve Womack has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011 and serves on the House Appropriations Defense, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Labor-Health and Human Services subcommittees and the House Committee on the Budget. |
