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Edited on Fri Dec-10-04 04:27 PM by mcscajun
The Flag Protection Act of 1989 made a criminal of any citizen who "knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon" a United States flag, except in relation to the disposal of a "worn or soiled" flag. In a number of cases that came to the Federal district court, the courts dismissed the charges under the belief that the Act violated the free speech clause of the First Amendment. The government appealed the United States v. Eichman case to the Supreme Court in 1990.
United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10 §176.(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
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