Article

Flag Burning: Ashes of First Amendment Protections

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Abstract

This article sets out to establish and qualify the existing relationship between the First Amendment protections for free speech and protest and the Trump administration’s concern for national unity and future restrictions on that right to serve the national interest. Using textual references to the Constitution, as well as various SCOTUS decisions and other sources, this article will document the chronology of the way that the flag has been protected and what that means for future legislation and decisions on the issue of the First Amendment. If there is an exception carved out for flag burning, that creates an opening for further restrictions on content-based issues that have been historically held to the highest degree of scrutiny, as it is one of our most important rights. In response to Executive Order 14341, “Prosecuting Burning of the American Flag” decisions from SCOTUS cases directly affirming the right to flag burning, such as Texas v. Johnson, and United States v. Eichman, will be used in the process. The history of restrictions on flag burning will also be evaluated, as has been shown in the Flag Protection Act of 1989.  

Keywords: Flag, Flag Burning, Constitution, Supreme Court

How to Cite:

Gosdanian, L., (2025) “Flag Burning: Ashes of First Amendment Protections”, UMass Undergraduate Law Review 2(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/uulrj.3581