Johnson was convicted of flag desecration for burning the flag rather than for uttering insulting words. If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable. . . . We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents.
- Justice Brennan, majority opinion
Uncritical extension of constitutional protection to the burning of the flag risks the frustration of the very purpose for which organized governments are instituted. . . . The flag is not simply another "idea" or "point of view" competing for recognition in the marketplace of ideas. . . . I cannot agree that the First Amendment invalidates the. . . laws which make criminal the public burning of the flag.
- Justice Rehnquist, dissenting opinion
The constitutional guarantee at issue in the case is:
