I used to respect Hillary Clinton. I liked what she was doing and does for my home state of New York. Her latest bill, which she is co-sponsoring with a Republican Senator, deeply disappoints me. The bill would, if passed, ban flag burning. She claims that her decision to propose the bill came after much discussion with veteran groups in NY who were deeply offended by the practice. Of course she does not provide statistics on how many flags are burned a year - in the US or in NY.
Why does this disappoint me? It strikes of pandering to the conservative right, solidifying the belief she plans to run for President in '08. Flag burning should not be an issue supported by Mrs. Clinton: banning it would violate the First Amendment. Burning a flag does not endanger anyone; it does not physically harm a person. Nor does it cause a person to fear for his or her life. It is, rather, an exercise of a person's free will to express displeasure by burning a material object that represents the US. I firmly believe banning the action of burning a flag violates the First Amendment. To find a politician I admired sponsoring a bill that would restrict our already greatly restricted freedoms saddens me. Furthermore, I do not see how flag burning is even an issue in today's society - people are not running around the streets burning flags on the corner.
For shame Mrs. Clinton. You just lost yourself a voter.
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