Perhaps I am mistaken here, but I thought burning is actually considered to be the only properly respectful way of disposing of an old flag. If so, flag burning is not, in itself, a sign of disrepect. As Kraven so eloquently argued, it is a statement of protest against government policies which are effectively destroying the very things for which the flag stands.

Although I personally would not burn a flag in protest, I find government policies which trample the freedoms for which this country stands a far greater desecration than flag burning.

Moreover, our Constitution is something special, something to be rarely amended. Even the Equal Rights Amendment (remember the ERA?) was not seen to be important enough to justify amending the Constitution. Although we might believe flag burning is not an appropriate method of protest, it does not rise to the level of importance to justify amending the Constitution.

fantassy