Jim Inhofe: “today this Chamber considers whether to send a constitutional amendment to the States and people of the United States, a…”

“today this Chamber considers whether to send a constitutional amendment to the States and people of the United States, a United States that is represented by that glorious flag that stands to your right, Mr. President. This is not the first time the people's elected representatives have acted to protect the flag, but as a result of a willful judicial resolve, we are forced to take this decisive action as the people's duly elected policymakers. I find it highly doubtful that the Framers intended the first amendment to cover flag desecration as protected speech. I find it even more unlikely that they intended the courts to be able to tell Congress that it cannot protect our flag. Quoting Alexander Hamilton, in The Federalist No. 78, it is Congress who ``prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated,'' not the courts. This is a principle I have consistently stood for and will stand for again when I vote in favor of S.J. Res. 12. When I see images on the news of different groups around the world burning American flags, it sickens my stomach. That is not speech: that is chaos. That is the mob mentality that is rebelliousness. That is conduct that appeals to the deepest and darkest parts of human nature. That is not the kind of riotous conduct that should be protected in this Nation; this amendment will allow us to make that clear once and for all.…”