Roy Moore Says Taking A Knee Is Illegal, The First Amendment Disagrees (TWEETS)

By
Darrell Lucus
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The right is almost unanimous in its view about NFL players protesting police brutality by taking a knee during the national anthem. To hear them talk, it’s disrespectful of both the flag and our troops past and present. Many of them have denounced the players in terms that are slight variations on Donald Trump calling them “sons of bitches” who ought to be fired posthaste.

But that stance sounds like a model of moderation compared to Roy Moore’s take on the matter. As far as the former Alabama chief justice and current Republican candidate for Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat is concerned, taking a knee isn’t just disrespectful–it’s illegal.

Moore sat down for an interview with Nash Jenkins of Time magazine to discuss his run for Senate. When Jenkins asked Moore about the current furor over players taking a knee, Moore’s answer was blunt.

“It’s against the law, you know that?”

Moore cited the section of U. S. Code relating to proper etiquette during the playing of the national anthem, which suggests standing with your hand over your heart. To hear Moore talk, this isn’t just a suggestion.

“Go look it up. It was a act of Congress that every man stand and put their hand over their heart. That’s the law.”

Moore went on to say that he strongly supported Trump’s continued pressure on the NFL to make players stand, in part because it was a matter of “respect for the law.” He’d made the same point earlier in the week on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/918165472096514048

https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/918165498751266821

https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/918165532767027207

https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/918165568678776832

https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/918165598470885377

https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/918165640380387328

https://twitter.com/MooreSenate/status/918165676006739968

Apparently when Moore was cut-and-pasting that statement into his Twitter, he apparently forgot that it says that we “should” stand for the flag, not that we “must.” How does Moore take that and turn that into a claim that not standing for the flag is against the law?


There’s a big reason why U. S. Code says we “should” stand, not that we “must”–a landmark Supreme Court case. Specifically, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, a 1943 Supreme Court case which struck down a state school board policy requiring public school students to salute the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance. The Court’s message was clear–if you don’t want to stand during the anthem, you can’t be arrested for doing so, as much as Moore would like that to be the case. In other words, with apologies to Politifact, Moore isn’t just wrong on this. He’s Pants on Fire wrong.

As misguided and flat-out wrong as Moore’s statement is, it’s especially breathtaking given the near-certainty that he read the words of Justice Robert Jackson’s majority opinion in this case while studying law at the University of Alabama.

“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.”

Nor should they in any self-respecting democracy. This decision was written in 1943, and the precedent established by it, especially coming as it did during World War II, is now essentially written in blood.

That fact alone would be enough to prove Moore is blowing smoke. But the Twitterverse was quick to point out Moore’s numerous instances in which he believed he was above the law and the courts.

Where was your “respect for the law” then, Roy?

There were already numerous reasons why the thought of saying “Senator Roy Moore” should send a chill down your spine. Well, add another reason–his apparent willingness to put the First Amendment in the shredder. Alabamians deserve better. And there’s a very good chance that they’ll get better. A new poll from Fox News shows Moore in a flat-footed tie with Democratic challenger Doug Jones, with both pulling 42 percent.


If Fox News can’t find a way to give Moore a lead, then there’s no doubt about it–this may very well be Alabama’s first competitive Senate race in more than two decades. At the same time, Jones has a hard road ahead in a state that has turned an unrecognizable shade of red in recent years. The GOP is going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at this race, and Jones is going to need a lot of help to pull this off. Click here to donate.

(featured image courtesy Moore’s Facebook)

Darrell Lucus
Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.

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