Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 15, 1990 TAG: 9005150315
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In arguments before the justices, the Bush administration's top courtroom lawyer, Solicitor General Kenneth Starr, argued that a new federal law to protect Old Glory does not violate free speech any more than a regulation limiting an outdoor loudspeaker's volume.
Congress can protect "those things that are special to us as a people," Starr said. "Nothing prohibits the legislature from protecting symbols against physical attack."
But civil rights attorney William Kunstler said, "Respect for the flag must be voluntary. Once people are compelled to respect a symbol, they are no longer free."
The law, the Flag Protection Act of 1989, was Congress' response to the high court's 5-4 ruling last June that struck down a Texas law banning flag burning and desecration.
The court is expected to rule by late June or early July. If the law is struck down, a proposed constitutional amendment to protect the flag likely would become a leading issue in congressional and state legislative races this fall.
Justice Harry Blackmun, seen by sponsors of the federal law as a potential swing vote, was silent throughout Monday's arguments.
Blackmun voted last year to strike down the Texas law. But in a 1974 ruling, he indicated he might go along with some laws to protect the flag's "physical integrity."
In other action, the Court refused to let an anti-abortion group protest at abortion clinics in Atlanta, voting 5-4 to leave intact a Georgia judge's injunction.
The vote focused on free-speech rights more than abortion and crossed ideological lines.
The court rejected an emergency request by five members of Operation Rescue who said the injunction is violating their free-speech rights.
The controversy is still alive in the Georgia courts, but Monday's action means Operation Rescue protesters for now cannot go within 50 feet of the property line of any Atlanta facility where abortions are performed.
The court also killed a lawsuit against Atlantic Richfield Co. by independent gasoline dealers in California and Washington state. The court, by a 7-2 vote, said price-cutting schemes that hurt a competitor's business do not necessarily violate federal antitrust laws.
by CNB