Your Rights: Freedom of Expression Assignment - 100%

According to Texas's attorney, why should the flag be protected? We believe that preservation of the flag as a symbol of nationhood and national unity is a compelling and valid state interest. We feel very certain that Congress has the power to both adopt a national symbol and to take steps to prevent the destruction of that symbol, to protect the symbol . . . we believe that if a symbol is . . . abused that it can in fact, lose its symbolic effect.

- to uphold it as a symbol of unity - to preserve it as a symbol of nationhood - to protect its effect as a symbol

Which statement best describes the Supreme Court's decision in Texas v. Johnson?

It protected actions such as flag burning and not just spoken or written words.

How did the decision the Supreme Court reached in Texas v. Johnson affect the protections offered by the First Amendment? Give your response in the form of two to three complete sentences.

My Response: Expanded freedom of speech to include symbols. He was found guilty of flag desecration but the when the case came to the Supreme Court, the Court decided it was a protected form of free speech. The Court stated that the government could not declare a symbol and only allow it to be used in a means found acceptable by the government. They stated that just because the action is not agreeable to others doesn't mean it shouldn't be protected. Sample Response: In deciding that flag burning was an act of personal expression protected by the First Amendment, the Supreme Court continued to extend the Constitution's protections to include symbolic speech. The Court explained that free speech cannot be limited just because an opinion is unpopular.

Which statement best summarizes Justice Brennan's opinion? [I]f there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.

The right to free speech extends to those expressing unpopular ideas.

Use the drop-down menu to complete the sentence. The main idea of this excerpt is that the First Amendment is essential because it In this excerpt, attorney William Kunstler is arguing against his client's conviction I understand that this flag has serious important meanings . . . But that does not mean that . . . people may not under the First Amendment show their feelings by what Texas calls desecration of a venerated object. I think it's a most important case. I sense that it goes to the heart of the First Amendment, to hear things or to see things that we hate test the First Amendment more than seeing or hearing things that we like. It wasn't designed for things we like. They never needed a First Amendment. The main idea of this excerpt is that the First Amendment is essential because it ________

allows for symbolic speech