Flag-burning in the US: What is the law?

Donald Trump has said Americans who burn the US flag should face "consequences", suggesting a year in prison or having their citizenship revoked as suitable punishments.

The president-elect's decision to highlight the issue yesterday is perplexing, says the Washington Post. "Flag-burning is not an issue that has occupied a central position in the American political consciousness of late," it says, although the flag has been set on fire in recent weeks during protests against the presidential election result.

What is the law?

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Laws prohibiting the burning or desecration of the Stars and Stripes have been struck down by the Supreme Court, most recently in 1990, because they were found to have violated the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech.

A constitutional amendment that would allow the government to ban flag-burning has been proposed many times but has never passed, says Politico.

What is Trump proposing?

While the president-elect hasn't elaborated on his call, it is possible he will look to resurrect a 2005 bill that would have banned flag-burning - co-sponsored by his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

However, in an interview with CNN, Trump's senior communications adviser Jason Miller "struggled to defend the president-elect's position", says Politico.

What has the reaction been?

Trump has found himself in a minority on the issue, with even prominent Republicans arguing that flag-burning is constitutionally protected.

House majority leader Kevin McCarthy said he "did not agree with the practice" but it was important to protect First Amendment rights.

Senior Republican Sean Duffy added he thought it was "probably right that we want to protect those people who want to protest and their right to actually demonstrate with disgracing our flag".

Other warned Trump had introduced the idea of stripping citizenship rights for political speech.