Constitutional Amendment to ban flag desecration?

[Firecat]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ybecliffhanger

[zenkidori]

i'll burn a flag at that.

won't be long and we'll all be going, "heil mein president, heil amerika!"

[bihus]

So much for the land of the free...

[CyberMonkey]

O M G.
Hope this is a hoax. Shit, I REALLY hoped that the First and Second World War learned us that nationalism is unnessecary and very dangerous. Things like this...
What is the sense of such a law? To prevent USA citizens, citizens of "The land of the free", where in some states you can simply shoot people who look dangerous to you in the street, of showing their distaste with their country? Sad, really sad.

[Z Draci]

Living in the US for over 18 years, I can tell you that this place is far from "free." People here are so conservative that they limit free thinking to a large extent. Unlike in Europe, there is a larger percentage of religious fanatics in the US.

The only thing that exists here is the opportunity to start from nothing and make yourself a millionaire. Literally, anybody can come here, get an education, and become wealthy.

Unlike in Europe and Asia, Americans have never had the opportunity to learn from the mistakes created by war. The US has never been leveled by bombs and suffered widespread economic doom like so many European countries.

The US is certainly backwards thinking compared to the folks in Europe.

[zenkidori]

where in some states you can simply shoot people who look dangerous to you in the street

this is BS. i've lived in 5 states and been to them all except hawaii many times for extended periods. no place is like this. my mother has also worked in law enforcement for many years, and we have many friends of family that are FBI, DEA or other govt. agencies. if you shoot someone anywhere no matter the reason, even in self defense with 50000 witnesses you are arrested and thoroughly interrogated, even tried many times. you can even be sued or jailed for using MACE or a TASER. this is one of those misconceptions many people from other countries have about the US. i don't know a single person who has ever carried a firearm in public that wasn't part of law enforcement. in SOME states you can get concealed carry permits, after attending a safety class and submitting to a thorough background check.

also in most towns and cities of any decent size it's illegal to carry a loaded weapon period.

this is a very stupid idea. not that i would ever burn a flag(i think there are far more useful ways of protesting than burning things and carrying signs and shouting), but i think we should have the right if need be. if we start forcing "patriotism" on everyone we'll become a nationalist nation and the true patriots will be regarded as terrorists(oh and we have all these fun new "anti-terrorist" laws). i love my country very much, but i have never given too much thought to leaving untill recently. sadly, there isn't too many places to go that are very different. the EU keeps adopting US policy and passing laws very similar to ours and it doesn't look like it will stop. i will be moving to japan after college, maybe i just won't come back, heheh.

here is a scary thought for everyone tho. if we do get a berserker president next and we go all blitzkreig on everyone, what would it take to stop us? we'd probably have the UK on our side as well, since blair does whatever bush says anyway.

[///M]

All this talk of the Patriots is reminding me of MGS.

*shudders*

[CyberMonkey]

Originally Posted by zenkidori

this is BS. i've lived in 5 states and been to them all except hawaii many times for extended periods. no place is like this. my mother has also worked in law enforcement for many years, and we have many friends of family that are FBI, DEA or other govt. agencies. if you shoot someone anywhere no matter the reason, even in self defense with 50000 witnesses you are arrested and thoroughly interrogated, even tried many times. you can even be sued or jailed for using MACE or a TASER. this is one of those misconceptions many people from other countries have about the US. i don't know a single person who has ever carried a firearm in public that wasn't part of law enforcement. in SOME states you can get concealed carry permits, after attending a safety class and submitting to a thorough background check.

also in most towns and cities of any decent size it's illegal to carry a loaded weapon period.
.

You are right that my sentence was a little overdone. But, I remember very well news from the USA not that long ago, and I quote:
A law letting people in Florida kill in self-defence on the street without first trying to flee an attacker has been passed by Florida politicians.

Florida law already allows people to shoot a potential attacker in their home, place of work or car.

But until now, courts insisted that anyone confronted in a public place should first try to run away.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4415135.stm

Again, you are propably right that people who want to take their weapon outside need to take lessons and a special license. But I remember this law producing quite some dust in Europe.

sorry for my strange choice of words and spelling errors

[cvrefugee]

This debate is older than dirt. It will never pass because it contradicts the First Amendment.

[jensked]

Don't they have other stuff to deal with??

And by the way, in Europe, people can also go from zero to hero.

University in Belgium costs 500 euros a year. That's nothing. The real price is about 12.000 euros per student...

[zenkidori]

CyberMonkey: the press likes to embellish and blow things out of proportion. you can defend yourself with lethal force in your own home, but it must be proven in a court of law you had no other alternative.

also that new law only applies if you don't have much of a chance of escape in the first place, i.e. they have a gun. so you can't just decide, "well then, that person look slike they could hurt me, i better take a pot shot at him right now". you would certainly go to jail for a very long time for that.

[Viper007Bond]

Supreme court will overturn it probably. It falls under free speech.

[general]

what was the first ammendment

[jensked]

Originally Posted by general

what was the first amendment

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The first 10 amendments on the US constitution are called 'the bill of rights'. The first Congress wanted to protect the individual against tyranny by the central government. They did not wanted to be like the British dictator. So Congress passed 10 of the 12 amendments proposed.

[CyberMonkey]

Originally Posted by zenkidori

CyberMonkey: the press likes to embellish and blow things out of proportion. you can defend yourself with lethal force in your own home, but it must be proven in a court of law you had no other alternative.

also that new law only applies if you don't have much of a chance of escape in the first place, i.e. they have a gun. so you can't just decide, "well then, that person look slike they could hurt me, i better take a pot shot at him right now". you would certainly go to jail for a very long time for that.

Ok, thank you for the enlighting!

[general]

thank you very much for telling.
In english it simply means that you are free to practice any religion

[zenkidori]

it actually stretches beyond religion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...Bill_of_Rights

CyberMonkey: no problem. there are a lot of misconceptions about america many europeans have, as there are many we have about you.

[jensked]

^ that's why I higlighted freedom of speech in my scientific essay.

[Firecat]

"You have the right to freeeee
Speech as long as you're not
Dumb enough to actually try it"

The Clash - "Know Your Rights"

[Firecat]

As expected, it has passed in the House. Onto the Senate next...

"Ask the men and women who stood on top of the (World) Trade Center," said Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham, R-Calif. "Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."