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Many Members of Congress see continued tension between "free speech" decisions of the Supreme Court, which protect flag desecration as expressive conduct under the First Amendment, and the symbolic importance of the United States flag. Consequently, every Congress that has convened since those decisions were issued has considered proposals that would permit punishment of those who engage in flag desecration. The 106th Congress narrowly failed to send a constitutional amendment to allow punishment of flag desecration to the States. In the 107th Congress, one such proposal was passed by the House. In the 108th Congress, the House Judiciary Committee has favorably reported a proposed constitutional amendment to allow punishment of flag desecration on a vote of 18-13.

Free expression and the right to dissent are among the core principles which the American flag represents. The First Amendment must be protected most when it comes to unpopular speech. Failure to do so fails the very notion of freedom of expression. Our democracy is strong because we tolerate all peaceful forms of expression, no matter how uncomfortable they make us feel, or how much we disagree. If we take away the right to dissent - no matter how unpopular - what freedom will be sacrificed next?

Welcome to the home page for the MIT Student Association for Freedom of Expression (SAFE). We work to organize support for freedom of speech and other forms of freedom of expression.

Language discrimination occurs when a person is treated differently because of that person's native language or other characteristics of that person's speech. In an employment situation, for example, an employee may be being subjected to language discrimination if the workplace has a "speak-English-only" policy but the employee's primary language is something other than English. The employee may also be the victim of language discrimination if he or she is treated less favorably than other employees because he or she speaks English with an accent, or if the employee is told he or she does not qualify for a position because of a lack of English proficiency. Outside the employment context, language discrimination may also occur if a person is denied access to businesses or government services because he or she does not speak English.

Censorship, the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are "offensive," happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others. Censorship can be carried out by the government as well as private pressure groups. Censorship by the government is unconstitutional.