The Ten Commandments vs. the Flag Amendment

Jacob Sullum | June 28, 2005

I suspect there's a lot of overlap between people who support government displays of the Ten Commandments, at issue in two cases decided by the Supreme Court yesterday, and people who think the Constitution should be amended to prohibit "desecration" of the U.S. flag, as the House voted to do last week. But it's hard to see how the latter position can be squared with the divine injunction against idolatry that appears at the beginning of the Decalogue.