[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2000)] [Senate] [Pages S1855-S1856] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] FLAG DESECRATION AMENDMENT Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today in opposition to the resolution which will be before us later this afternoon dealing with the issue of flag burning. I will spend a few minutes to express to my colleagues and to others who may be interested at least my point of view on this. We have debated it in this Chamber a number of times over the past decade or more. We have it before us again today. I wish to take a few minutes to explain my views on this issue and how I intend to vote when the matter comes before us. This is no ordinary resolution. It is no ordinary debate. When we speak of amending the Bill of Rights of our Constitution, we ought to do so with great care. Our Bill of Rights has existed now for more than 200 years, and, despite literally thousands of proposals to amend it, our forebearers, and those who occupied this Chamber over the years, saw fit to not on a single occasion amend the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. It is a remarkable record when you consider the trials and tribulations this Nation has been through--a great depression, great world wars, a great civil war which ravaged this Nation. Despite more than 11,000 attempts to amend the Constitution--many of them to amend the Bill of Rights--none of our predecessors, and none of the Congresses that have preceded us, saw fit during all of those great trials and tribulations to amend the Bill of Rights of the United States. Today, we are being asked to change that 209-year history and to amend the Bill of Rights to deal with the outrageous, indefensible behavior of those who would burn the symbol of our freedom, the symbol of our Constitution, the symbol of our democracy, the great flag of the United States. It goes without saying that every Member of this Chamber and the other body, and the overwhelming majority of Americans would find flag burning offensive and abhorrent. As many of our colleagues, I believe it ought to be a crime--whether it is criminal intent to incite violence or commit a theft. But to truly honor our Nation's history and the veterans, we must not only protect our flag but, in my view, we must also protect the Constitution and the freedoms promised by that flag. Our former colleague, Senator John Glenn of Ohio, who served this Nation as a combat pilot in Korea, as an astronaut, and as Senator, well known to most Americans, well known by all of our colleagues, put it very well. I would like to quote it: ``There is one way to weaken the fabric of your country, and it is not through a few misguided souls burning our flag. It is by retreating from the principles that the flag stands for. And that will do more damage to the fabric of our Nation than 1,000 torched flags could ever do. . . . History and future generations will judge us harshly, as they should, if we permit those who would defile our flag to hoodwink us into also defiling our Constitution. The Framers of the Constitution, in their boundless wisdom and notable humility, understood that succeeding generations may see fit to amend this cornerstone document. But those amendments should be limited, in James Madison's words, to ``great and extraordinary occasions.'' Regrettably, Madison's edict has not been heeded by many who have come after him. In this Congress alone, more than 50 proposed amendments to the Constitution have been introduced--including one to make it easier to amend the Constitution in the future. But collectively our Nation has paid heed to the caution urged by Madison and others of his day. It is reassuring to know that, of the 11,000 amendments introduced since ratification of the Bill of Rights 209 years ago, only 17 have been adopted. Clearly, there is no great and extraordinary occasion warranting ratification of the amendment proposed in the Senate today. Flag burning is rare, thank God. It is despicable. It is reprehensible. But it does not present a constitutional crisis for our Nation. Indeed, in the entire history of our Nation, there have been only about 200 reported incidents of flag burning, an average of less than one a year for each of our Nation's history--one a year, 200 cases in a nation of 260 million people today. And we have less than roughly one case a year for the 200-year history of our Nation. I would submit that the despicable acts of a few misguided miscreants do not cry out for this Congress to be the first in history to restrict the liberties of all Americans by narrowing the Bill of Rights. Some argue that even one flag burned would be enough to warrant ratification of this proposed amendment. They say that, without such an amendment, we effectively sanction flag-burning. But toleration is not approval. We do not as a nation sanction everything which we do not punish. Indeed, I would submit that the heart of the greatness of our democracy is that we tolerate that which we disapprove of. We permit and protect that which we find most offensive and obnoxious. They will continue, and probably grow, unfortunately, in number in a disgraceful effort to attract attention to themselves. What will such a possibility portend for the respect we all have for our beloved Constitution? [[Page S1856]] I do not for a moment question the intentions of those who support the resolution before us. I respect most, if not all, of the people who are advocating this change. But, in my view, let us be clear. No amendment and no amount of amendments to the Constitution will in and of themselves result in greater respect for the flag and for the free and democratic nation that it symbolizes. You cannot mandate nor legislate patriotism. You carry it in your heart and soul. But I cannot write it for you. I cannot force it down the throats of the citizens I represent. We can change laws but we cannot change hearts by changing laws. We can only attempt to change conduct and to enshrine in our laws the eternal principles that have guided our Nation from its earliest days--principles such as liberty and equality. Let us leave to statutory law--those already on the books, and those along the lines proposed by several of our colleagues--to sanction those who would with criminal intent burn our beloved flag. But let us leave the Constitution unsullied by a proposal such as this that would needlessly, in my view, restrict our liberties as a people. The great genius of our Constitution is that it enshrines in word the eternal aspirations of humanity. We may try to amend it, but if we do so in a manner at odds with those aspirations, then we act at our peril and in folly. As Alexander Hamilton said: The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power. Let us not trifle with the Bill of Rights, a document that has never been changed, not one comma, not one semicolon, not one word, in 210 years of history. Let us not change that today over this issue. I urge the defeat of this resolution. I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. L. Chafee). The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hagel). Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from New Hampshire. Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. I thank the Chair. (The remarks of Mr. Smith of New Hampshire pertaining to the introduction of S. 2314 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'') ____________________