{"id":16135,"date":"2016-11-30T09:26:14","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T09:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=16135"},"modified":"2016-11-30T09:26:14","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T09:26:14","slug":"trump-denounces-flag-burning-twitter-points-constitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/elections\/trump-denounces-flag-burning-twitter-points-constitutional.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump denounces flag burning, Twitter points out it is constitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the Supreme Court has declared flag burning to be a constitutionally protected form of free speech, Donald Trump said Tuesday he still wants to make the practice illegal.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Flag burning is completely ridiculous and I think you know that and I think the vast majority of Americans would agree,” his spokesman Jason Miller said in contentious interview with CNN Tuesday when he was asked about Trump’s tweet.<\/span><\/p>\n

“But legal,” host Chris Cuomo interjected.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Flag burning should be illegal, it’s completely despicable” Miller continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s not known what inspired Trump’s condemnation of flag burning, or whether he will call on Congress to attempt a new law banning it.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Supreme Court has upheld flag burning, Trump will have at least one appointment to that body and has a chance to alter the court’s ideological direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Civil liberties groups denounced Trump’s flag burning statement, especially his suggestion that offenders could lose citizenship.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that the government could not only censor someone for engaging in political speech, but actually revoke a protester\u2019s U.S. citizenship as a punishment for political speech is unconstitutional and fundamentally un-American,” said Lee Rowland, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.<\/span><\/p>\n

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said there was a bipartisan consensus that flag burning was offensive, but also that it\u2019s protected under the First Amendment. \u201cThis is not the first thing the president-elect has said or tweeted that President Obama disagrees with,\u201d Earnest said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Twitter had a range of views, many of them disagreeing with the president-elect<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“It is poignant but fundamental that the flag protects those who hold it in contempt.”
\n– Justice Kennedy, 1989 pic.twitter.com\/ldPDJNQgjN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Brad Heath (@bradheath) November 29, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n