SJR 9: Relating to an amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting desecration of the Flag of the United States.
00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 9 01 Relating to an amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting 02 desecration of the Flag of the United States. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS certain actions, although arguably related to one person's free expression, 05 nevertheless raise issues concerning public decency, public peace, and the rights of expression 06 and sacred values of others; and 07 WHEREAS there are symbols of our national soul such as the Washington Monument, 08 the United States Capitol Building, and memorials to our greatest leaders, that are the property 09 of every American and are therefore worthy of protection from desecration and dishonor; and 10 WHEREAS the American Flag was most nobly born in the struggle for independence 11 that began with "The Shot Heard Round the World" on a bridge in Concord, Massachusetts; 12 and 13 WHEREAS in the War of 1812 the American Flag stood boldly against foreign 14 invasion, symbolized the stand of a young and brave nation against the mighty world power
01 of that day, and in its courageous resilience inspired our national anthem; and 02 WHEREAS in the Second World War the American Flag was the banner that led the 03 American battle against fascist imperialism from the depths of Pearl Harbor to the 04 mountaintop on Iwo Jima, and from defeat in North Africa's Kasserine Pass to victory in the 05 streets of Hitler's Germany; and 06 WHEREAS Alaska's star was woven into the fabric of the Flag in 1959, and that 49th 07 star has become an integral part of the Union; and 08 WHEREAS the American Flag symbolizes the ideals that good and decent people 09 fought for in Vietnam, often at the expense of their lives or at the cost of cruel condemnation 10 upon their return home; and 11 WHEREAS the American Flag symbolizes the sacred values for which loyal 12 Americans risked and often lost their lives in securing civil rights for all Americans, regardless 13 of race, sex, or creed; and 14 WHEREAS the American Flag was carried to the moon as a banner of goodwill, 15 vision, and triumph on behalf of all mankind; and 16 WHEREAS the American Flag to this day is a most honorable and worthy banner of 17 a nation that is thankful for its strengths and committed to curing its faults, and remains the 18 destination of millions of immigrants attracted by the universal power of the American ideal; 19 and 20 WHEREAS the law as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court no longer 21 accords to the Stars and Stripes that reverence, respect, and dignity befitting the banner of that 22 most noble experiment of a nation-state; and 23 WHEREAS it is only fitting that people everywhere should lend their voices to a 24 forceful call for restoration to the Stars and Stripes of a proper station under law and decency; 25 BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the Congress of the United 26 States is requested to prepare and present to the legislatures of the several states an 27 amendment to the Constitution of the United States that would specifically provide the 28 Congress and the legislatures of the several states the power to prohibit the physical 29 desecration of the Flag of the United States; this request does not constitute a call for a 30 constitutional convention; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislatures of the several states are invited to join
01 with Alaska to secure ratification of the proposed amendment. 02 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Dan Quayle, Vice-President 03 of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable George J. Mitchell, 04 Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; to the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. 05 House of Representatives; the governors of each of the several states; the presiding officers 06 of each house of the legislatures of the several states; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and 07 the Honorable Frank Murkowski, United States Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, 08 United States Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.