The State - News from July 21, 1989

Talked out and seemingly bored with the issue, the Legislature urged Congress to enact a constitutional amendment to protect the American flag against desecration. In contrast to long and emotional debates earlier, a pair of flag protection petitions addressed to Congress and President Bush was overwhelmingly whipped out of the Assembly and Senate without debate in less than two minutes. Congress is considering such an amendment in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that burning the flag as a form of political protest is protected by the constitutional right to free speech.