“Yes, if I were king, I would not allow people to go about burning the American flag. However, we have a First Amendment, which says that the right of free speech shall not be abridged. And it is addressed, in particular, to speech critical of the government. I mean, that was the main kind of speech that tyrants would seek to suppress.”
About This Quote
New York Times (July 19, 2012)
More from Antonin Scalia
“Humanity has been around for at least some 5,000 years or so, and I doubt that the basic…”
“You're looking at me as though I'm weird. My god! Are you so out of touch with most of…”
“[N]ot once in the history of the American Republic has this Court ever suggested the death…”
“Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only…”