Adair, Hon. E. Ross, U.S. Representative from Indiana.... Anderson, A. Leo, AMVETS national commander__ Ashbrook, Hon. John M., U.S. Representative from Ohio.... Baring, Hon. Walter S., U.S. Representative from Nevada_. Berry, Hon. E. Y., U.S. Representative from South Dakota_- Biester, Hon. Edward G., Jr., U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. Boggs, Hon. Hale, U.S. Representative from Louisiana--- Chamberlain, Hon. Charles E., U.S. Representative from Michigan.. Clancy, Hon. Donald D., U.S. Representative from Ohio.--- Corbett, Hon. Robert J., U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania...- de la Garza, Eligio (Kika), U.S. Representative from Texas-- Delaney, Hon. James J., U.S. Representative from New York......--- District of Columbia State Federation of Business & Professional Dole, Hon. Robert, U.S. Representative from Kansas.. Fulton, Hon. James G., U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania__ Papantonio, Edward, chairman, National Americanism Committee, Reid, Hon. Charlotte T., U.S. Representative from Illinois. Schadeberg, Hon. Henry C., U.S. Representative from Wisconsin__ 269 214 295 44 132 133 294 212 91 292 277 278 213 296 240 211 211 293 212 299 130 184 91 H.R. 271, AND SIMILAR BILLS, TO PROHIBIT DESECRATION OF THE FLAG MONDAY, MAY 8, 1967 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE No. 4 OF THE The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Byron G. Rogers (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Rogers, Whitener, Jacobs, McClory, and Poff. Present also: Benjamin L. Zelenko, counsel, and Donald G. Benn, associate counsel. Mr. ROGERS. The hearing will come to order. Today, Subcommittee No. 4 of the Committee on the Judiciary begins hearings on measures designed to make the desecration of the flag a Federal crime. Över 60 proposals are now pending before this subcommittee which would make it a Federal offense to publicly mutilate, deface, defile, defy, trample upon or cast contempt upon, either by word or act, the flag of the United States. The bills before us differ primarily with respect to the severity of the criminal penalties they would impose. The greatest number of identical bills impose a fine of $1,000 "and" imprisonment for 1 year. Other measures provide for maximum penalties of five years' imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine. Still other bills provide lower penalties. The committee desires to proceed in its hearings with appropriate expedition and due deliberation. It will receive testimony from congressional sponsors of the legislation and from organizations who have indicated an interest in a proposed Federal criminal statute. Without objection, the text of the measures dealing with the subject will be included in the record at this point. (The documents referred to follow :) [H.R. 271, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To prohibit desecration of the flag Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended by designating the first sentence thereof as subsection (a) and the second sentence thereof as subsection (c), and by inserting after subsection (a) the following: 1 "(b) Whoever publicly mutilates, defaces, defiles, defies, tramples upon or casts contempt, either by word or act, upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both." (b) Subsection (c) of such section is amended by striking out "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof "in this section". [H.R. 371, 90th Cong., first sess.]. A BILL To prohibit desecration of the flag Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended by designating the first sentence thereof as subsection (a) and the second sentence thereof as subsection (c), and by inserting after subsection (a) the following: "(b) Whoever publicly mutilates, defaces, defiles, defies, tramples upon or casts contempt, either by word or act, upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine of not more than $1,000." (b) Subsection (c) of such section is amended by striking out "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof "in this section". [H.R. 416, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To prohibit desecration of the flag Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended by designating the first sentence thereof as subsection (a) and the second sentence thereof as subsection (c), and by inserting after subsection (a) the following: "(b) Whoever publicly mutilates, defaces, defiles, defies, tramples upon, or casts contempt, either by word or act, upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine of not more than $1,000." (b) Subsection (c) of such section is amended by striking out "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof "in this section". [H.R. 663, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To prohibit desecration of the flag Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended by designating the first sentence thereof as subsection (a) and the second sentence thereof as subsection (c), and by inserting after subsection (a) the following: "(b) Whoever publicly mutilates, defaces, defiles, defies, tramples upon or casts contempt, either by word or act, upon any flag, standards, colors, or ensign of the United States shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine of not more than $1,000." (b) Subsection (c) of such section is amended by striking out "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof "in this section". [H.R. 764, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To prohibit desecration of the flag Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended by designating the first sentence thereof as subsection (a) and the second sentence thereof as subsection (c), and by inserting after subsection (a) the following: "(b) Whoever publicly multilates, defaces, defiles, defies, tramples upon, or casts contempt, either by word or act, upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine of not more than $1,000." (b) Subsection (c) of such section is amended by striking out "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof “in this section". [H.R. 1003, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To prohibit misuse or exportation of the flag of the United States in certain instances and to prohibit public display of the flag of a foreign government engaging the United States in war or armed conflict Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whoever sells a flag of the United States or an article incorporating all or part of such flag (or representation thereof), knowing that after sale such flag or article is intended to be used (1) other than as an emblem of the national sovereignty of the United States, and (2) in a manner inconsistent with the respect which should be accorded the flag of the United States, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. SEC. 2. (a) The President of the United States shall prohibit the exportation from the United States of the flag of the United States in any case in which he determines that the use of which such flag is intended after such exportation is inconsistent with the respect which should be accorded the flag of the United States. (b) Whoever exports a flag of the United States in violation of a prohibition of the President of the United States made pursuant to subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $2,500 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. SEC. 3. (a) Chapter 115 of title 18 of the United States Code is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: "§ 2392. Public display of flag of hostile foreign government prohibited "Whoever, during any period when the United States is engaged in a declared war or armed conflict, flies, parades with, or otherwise publicly displays the flag, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, of the foreign government, body, or group engaging the United States in the war or armed conflict, with intent to incite or encourage resistance to the prosecution of the war or conflict by the United States or to promote or solicit support for the cause of the enemies engaging the United States in the war or conflict, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both." (b) The analysis of chapter 115 of title 18 of the United States Code is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new item: “2392. Public display of flag of hostile foreign government prohibited." [H.R. 1207, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To prohibit desecration of the flag Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended by designating the first sentence thereof as subsection (a) and the second sentence thereof as subsection (c), and by inserting after subsection (a) the following: "(b) Whoever publicly mutilates, defaces, defiles, defies, tramples upon or costs contempt, either by word or act, upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine of not more than $1,000." (b) Subsection (c) of such section is amended by striking out "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof "in this section". [H.R. 2364, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To prohibit desecration of the flag Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended (1) by redesignating the first sentence thereof as subsection (a); (2) by striking out in such first sentence, redesignated as subsection (a), "or who, within the District of Columbia, shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile, or defy, trample upon, or cast contempt, either by word or act, upon any such flag, standard, colors, or ensign," ; (3) by redesignating the second sentence thereof as subsection (c); (4) by striking out in such subsection (c), as so redesignated, the word "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "in this section"; and (5) by inserting after subsection (a), as so redesignated, the following new subsection (b): "(b) Whoever publicly mutilates, defaces, defiles, defies, tramples upon, or casts contempt, either by word or act, upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than five years and a fine of not more than $10,000, or both." [H.R. 3085, 90th Cong., first sess.] A BILL To amend title 4 of the United States Code to make certain provisions of that title relating to mutilation of the flag of the United States effective throughout the United States, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 3 of title 4, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: "§ 3. Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flag "Any person who, in any manner, for exhibition or display, shall place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America; or shall expose or cause to be exposed to public view any such flag, standard, colors, or ensign upon which shall have been printed, painted, or otherwise placed, or to which shall be attached, appended, affixed, or annexed any word, figure, mark picture, design, or drawing, or any advertisement of any nature; or who shall manufacture, sell, expose for sale, or to public view, or give away or have in possession for sale, or to be given away or for use for any purpose, any article or substance being an article of merchandise, or a receptacle for merchandise or article or thing for carrying or transporting merchandise, upon which shall have been printed, painted, attached, or otherwise placed a representation of any such flag, standard, colors, or ensign, to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so placed; or who shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy, trample upon, or cast contempt, either by word or act, upon any such flag, standard, colors, or ensign, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both, in the discretion of the court. The words 'flag, standards, colors, or ensign', as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America." |