Senate Furls Flag Amendment Inouye, Glenn Among Those Voting No Voted As Measure Fell Short Of Passage 63-36
Dan Inouye lost his arm fighting under it during World War II, even as other Japanese-Americans were locked in internment camps. John Glenn took one into space.
But the two senators joined 34 other colleagues Tuesday in scuttling a proposed amendment to the Constitution to give Congress the power to ban the desecration of the American flag.
The vote for the amendment was 63-36, three short of the two-thirds necessary for passage.
All politicians know the power of the American flag. The blinding passion that stirs soldiers in combat. The honor and pathos evoked in a flag-draped coffin. The catch in the throat when the American flag is raised over the winner’s platform at the Olympics.
But for Glenn, an Ohio Democrat, the key was that the flag is a symbol of American freedom to speak your mind.
“It would be a hollow victory indeed if we preserve the symbol of our freedoms by chipping away at those freedoms,” Glenn said. “Those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our flag did not give up their lives for a red, white and blue piece of cloth. They died because of their allegiance to the values, rights and principles represented by that flag.”
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, saw nothing wrong in limiting flag desecration, just as Congress has already limited offensive speech in 21 other cases, he said, efficiently ticking them off: child pornography, obscenity, even some speech made by federal employees.”It’s not free speech,” Hatch said. “It’s offensive conduct.”
But even as each side accused the other of political pandering and demagoguery, each lawmaker was familiar with the visceral reaction by much of the public to flag desecration.
“People misunderstand how deeply felt this issue is. It’s not just some group of mean-spirited, right-wing fanatics,” said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., who voted against the amendment. “My mother doesn’t understand why we don’t do something.”
Biden’s mother is in the majority. The American Legion commissioned a poll last March that showed that 79 percent of the respondents said they would support a constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration. The House overwhelmingly passed a similar amendment last summer. And every state but Vermont has passed a resolution calling for a flag-protection amendment.
In a show of grass-roots power, the Citizens Flag Alliance, the umbrella group of 114 organizations pushing for an amendment, had a terse reply to Tuesday’s vote: “See you in November.”
Neither side knew which way the votes would go up until the time they were cast. The outcome hung on three Democratic senators: Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Bill Bradley of New Jersey and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, according to Biden and lobbyists from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Hatch said he lost the three because of heavy lobbying from the White House.
xxxx How they voted How the region’s senators voted in the 63-36 roll call Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority for approval. On this vote, a “yes” vote was a vote to approve the amendment. Idaho - Craig (R) Yes; Kempthorne (R) Yes. Ashcroft (R) Yes; Bond (R) Yes. Montana - Baucus (D) Yes; Burns (R) Yes. Washington - Gorton (R) Yes; Murray (D) No.