On the recordJune 14, 2017
today, June 14, 2017 marks the 240th observance of ``Flag Day,'' a day which commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777. Deeply symbolic, our flag honors the sovereignty of each of our Nation's 50 States and the great sacrifices many Americans have made to uphold its bedrock principles of freedom and liberty. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that over one million military service members have given their lives in the line of duty under our flag. Title 4 of United States Code, ``The Flag Code'' sets specific requirements for the handling and display of the flag, as a sign of respect to the symbol of our Nation. In 1989, with a disappointing 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Texas v. Johnson that the desecration of the United States flag was a form of free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution. Here, Chief Justice Rehnquist rightly observed in his dissent that ``the flag is not simply another `idea' or `point of view' competing for recognition in the marketplace of ideas.'' Justice Kennedy, in his majority concurrence, recognized that many would be dismayed by the court's decision, and himself called the result distasteful. Yet, he explained that the court was bound to its decision according to the provisions of the Constitution. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this decision in United States v. Eichman in 1990.…
