Is The Burning of the American Flag Hate Speech?
Is burning an LGBT flag Free Speech?
This has always been a hot topic on my Saturday Radio show from time to time.
Is flag burning a true expression of free speech?
Or would hate of your country be a more fitting description. Would burning a LGBT flag be considered free speech or hate speech?
According to 5–4 US Supreme Court decision in the case of Texas vs. Johnson it is free speech.
During the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, Gregory Lee “Joey” Johnson was a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade at the time and burned a flag stolen from one of the nearby buildings during a demonstration in front of the Dallas City Hall.
Protesting With the Flag
Johnson and others were protesting the policies of then President Ronald Reagan.
All protesters have slogans, and this group was no exception.
They chanted, “America, the red, white, and blue, we spit on you, you stand for plunder, you will go under,” and “Reagan, Mondale, which will it be? Either one means World War III.”
Who was Johnson’s attorney you might ask?