If At First You Don’t Ban Free Speech, Try, Try Again
On January 7, 2009, Republican Representative Jo Ann Emerson introduced what she must have thought was a killer bill. House Joint Resolution 8 is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would “prohibit the act of desecration of the flag of the United States.” If passed, H.J. Res 8 would be the first section of the Constitution to ban Americans’ expression of some political idea. It would also put into the Constitution the first mention of any object as an untouchably “sacred” idol. Rep. Emerson is a fundamentalist Christian, but apparently she hasn’t read her Exodus 20.
Emerson’s constitutional amendment has a little bit of religious idolatry and a little squelching of free speech. For Red State USA, she must have thought, what’s not to like? Indeed, in past years the whole flag-burning issue has been a big winner. But in the 111th Congress, the idea seems to be a flop: of 435 members of the House of Representatives, only 2 members (Spencer Bachus and Michael Simpson) have added their names to the amendment as supporting cosponsors.
Now Jo Ann Emerson may be many things, but she is not a quitter. If at first she doesn’t succeed in setting up a free-speech-quelching nationalist religious cult, she’ll try, try again! And so, on April 30, 2009, Rep. Emerson introduced House Joint Resolution 47, a constitutional amendment to — you guessed it — “prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.”
47 is a bigger number than 8. This may be the key to Jo Ann Emerson’s success!
