{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hres12-115/featured_expressing-the-sense-of-the-house-of-representatives-regarding-the-enhancement-of-unity-in-america-1503000067.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hres12-115/featured_large_expressing-the-sense-of-the-house-of-representatives-regarding-the-enhancement-of-unity-in-america-1503000067.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hres12-115.png"},"introduced_on":"2017-01-03","title_override":"Should the House Call for the Confederate Flag to be Removed From “Government Speech”?","summary_override":"

This resolution would express the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. can achieve a more perfect union by avoiding “government speech” that promotes or displays symbols, signs, and vestiges of racism, oppression, and intimidation at all levels of government (such as the Confederate flag). It states that such symbols “promote division and tear at the fabric of the American society” and that by discontinuing the use of such symbols it would promote tolerance and unity.

“Government speech” is a constitutional law doctrine which holds that the government isn’t required to be viewpoint neutral when it is the speaker. For example, under the First Amendment the government can’t deny a group the right to hold a rally in a park, but it can decline to include their views in programs at public schools.

As a simple resolution, this legislation wouldn’t advance to the Senate if passed by the House and wouldn’t have the force of law.

","official_title":"Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the enhancement of unity in America.","short_title":null,"popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States can achieve a more perfect union:\n\n through avoidance of \"government speech\" (as the state of Texas did in Walker III v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc.) that promotes or displays symbols, signs, and vestiges of racism, oppression, and intimidation; by abating the use of government speech through signs, actions, and words that promote division and tear at the fabric of American society; and by taking actions to ensure that government speech does not foster division, disharmony, or intolerance through government-issued or sponsored flags, signs, images, or other symbol.","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Government speech that includes the Confederate flag or similar symbols of racism, oppression, and intimidation.","argument_for":"Governments should use their discretion to not include the Confederate flag and other symbols of bigotry and oppression in instances of “government speech”.","argument_against":"Governments should be more permissive in terms of including things like the Confederate flag or objectionable symbols when exercising “government speech”.","bill_type":"hres","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hres12-115","bill_id":"hres12-115","formal_id":"H. 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Wake up people learn from history . Trump is hitler and the republicans are the nazis . Vote all of them out before they destroy our democracy.","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":1,"upvotes_for_count":1,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":1,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/8e31fc88-aca0-4fda-9ab5-33f44622e387"},"body":"Remove the republicans and the confederate statues and flags and racist terrorist President and the Republican Party terrorist organization they all need to go . Wake up people learn from history . Trump is hitler and the republicans are the nazis . Vote all of them out before they destroy our democracy.","stance":"yea","created_at":"2017-08-17T22:05:23.120Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/8e31fc88-aca0-4fda-9ab5-33f44622e387.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"hres12-115","user_id":"MZP2bKX9","endorser_ids":["MZP2bKX9"]}}

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Should the House Call for the Confederate Flag to be Removed From “Government Speech”?