Mitch Takes a Stand

“No act of speech is so obnoxious that it merits tampering with our First Amendment. Our Constitution, and our country, is stronger than that.” 

—Mitch McConnell, U.S. senator, R-Ky, casting the deciding vote in 2006 against a GOP measure to amend the Constitution and criminalize flag-burning, in “Trump Wants Stiff Penalties for Burning American Flag,” Rollcall, 2016.

• Editorial Comment: Well, whaddaya know. Of course, that was 12 years ago.


Note: McConnell went on to explain that weakening one constitutional amendment could set a precedent threatening other freedoms, such as the Second Amendment freedom to bear arms. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in two cases in 1989 and 1990 that flag-burning is protected free speech.





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