RIGHTS WATCH : Dangerous ‘Cure’

Undeterred by a setback in seeking a constitutional amendment to ban burning of the U.S. flag, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) is now pushing a revised version.

In his earlier attempt, Hatch offered a proposed amendment that cleared the House but stalled in the Senate. That measure would have allowed both Congress and the individual states to ban flag burning. Currently Hatch is proposing a compromise limiting that power to Congress.

But no matter how narrowly the senator casts such a measure, any flag-burning amendment poses a problem that is basic and insurmountable. It compromises constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech. Indeed, the Supreme Court has held that flag burning is a protected form of political expression, however obnoxious it might be. A constitutional amendment would override that ruling.

Any amendment approved by Congress would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. Proponents say an amendment is needed to prevent attacks on one of our country’s most powerful and enduring symbols. Maybe, but a change like this would do great damage to a more substantial part of the American identity: the Bill of Rights.

Certainly flag burning is offensive to most Americans. But by diluting the free speech rights of the 1st Amendment--in an effort to counter a behavior that is practically nonexistent--Congress and the states would encourage other challenges to fundamental rights. This door should not be opened.