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SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8006
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Passed Legislature - 1995 Regular Session
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995
Regular Session
By
Read first time 01/16/95. Referred to Committee
on Law & Justice.
Asking Congress to propose a
constitutional amendment to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
We, your Memorialists,
the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in
legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
WHEREAS, Although the
right of free expression is part of the foundation of the United States
Constitution, very carefully drawn limits on expression in specific instances
have long been recognized as legitimate means of maintaining public safety and
decency, as well as orderliness and productive value of public debate; and
WHEREAS, Certain
actions, although arguably related to one person's free expression,
nevertheless raise issues concerning public decency, public peace, and the
rights of expression and sacred values of others; and
WHEREAS, There are
symbols of our national soul such as the Washington Monument, the United States
Capitol Building, and memorials to our greatest leaders, which are the property
of every American and are therefore worthy of protection from desecration and
dishonor; and
WHEREAS, The American
Flag to this day is a most honorable and worthy banner of a nation that is
thankful for its strengths and committed to curing its faults, and remains the
destination of millions of immigrants attracted by the universal power of the
American ideal; and
WHEREAS, The law as
interpreted by the United States Supreme Court no longer accords to the Stars
and Stripes that reverence, respect, and dignity befitting the banner of that
most noble experiment of a nation-state; and
WHEREAS, It is only
fitting that people everywhere should lend their voices to a forceful call for
a restoration of the Stars and Stripes to a proper station under law and
decency;
NOW, THEREFORE, Your
Memorialists respectfully pray that the Congress of the United States propose
an amendment of the United States Constitution, for ratification by the states,
specifying that Congress and the states shall have the power to prohibit the
physical desecration of the flag of the United States;
BE IT
RESOLVED, That certified copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted by
the secretary of state to the president and the secretary of the United States
Senate, to the speaker and the clerk of the United States House of
Representatives, and to each member of this state's delegation to the Congress.
