Trump calls for amendment to ban flag burning, says it's a 'no brainer!'

President Trump pledged his support Saturday for updating the U.S. Constitution to let Congress outlaw burning the American flag.

“All in for Senator Steve Daines as he proposes an Amendment for a strong BAN on burning our American Flag,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter. “A no brainer!”

Mr. Daines, Montana Republican, offered the proposed constitutional amendment on Friday, Flag Day, two years since launching a similar effort that ultimately failed to gain steam.

The Supreme Court has found that flag burning is a form of free speech and accordingly protected under the First Amendment, effectively requiring the Constitution to be amended in order for Congress to have the authority to decide otherwise. 

Amendments can be added to the Constitution through one of two routes, each ultimately requiring the support of most states. In the first, two-thirds of both the House and Senate must agree on a proposal and then have it ratified by three-fourths of the states. In the second, two-thirds of the nation’s state legislatures have to call a convention to propose changes to the Constitution, which would subsequently require three-fourths of the states.