STATEMENTS BY SUPREME COURT JUSTICES - UNITED STATES VS. EICHMAN, 496 U.S. 310 (1990)

"[I]t is now conceded that the Federal Government has a legitimate interest in protecting the symbolic value of the American flag. Obviously that value cannot be measured, or even described, with any precision. It has at least these two components: in times of national crisis, it inspires and motivates the average citizen to make personal sacrifices in order to achieve societal goals of overriding importance: at all times, it serves as a reminder of the paramount importance of pursuing the ideals that characterize our society."

Justice John Paul Stevens
(joined by Justices Rehnquiest, White and O'Connor)
496 U.S. at 319-20

"Thus, the Government may - indeed, it should - protect the symbolic value of the flag without regard to the specific content of the flag burner's speech....It is, moreover, equally clear that the prohibition does not entail any interference with the speaker's freedom to express his or her ideals by other means. It may well be true that other means of expression may be less effective in drawing attention to those ideas, but that is not itself a sufficient reason for immunizing flag burning. Presumably, a gigantic fireworks display or a parade of nude models in a public park might draw even more attention to a controversial message, but such methods of expression are nevertheless subject to regulation."

Justice John Paul Stevens
(joined by Justices Rehnquiest, White and O'Connor)
496 U.S. at 321-22

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