In the flag desecration portion of Texas v. Johnson, which outcome did the Court reach?

• A. The Court avoided ruling on flag desecration.
• B. The Court invalidated flag protections nationwide.
• C. The Court upheld the Texas flag desecration law.
• D. The Court struck down a Texas flag desecration law on First Amendment grounds.

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that the First Amendment protects symbolic speech, including acts like burning a flag to express a political message. In this case, the Court held that flag desecration is a form of expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, and Texas’s law banning it unconstitutionally punished a specific form of expression based on its message. By striking down the Texas statute, the Court made clear that the government cannot suppress this kind of expressive conduct simply because it offends. This ruling does not establish a nationwide ban on all flag protections, but it does remove that Texas law under First Amendment grounds.