The First Amendment affords protection to symbolic or expressive conduct as well as to actual speech.

This second possibility apparently describes the expressive conduct of the flag-burners in these cases.

But anything can be said to fall within the rubric of expressive conduct, including murder and rape.

Panhandling raises the issue of regulating expressive conduct - action mixed with speech that in some circumstances might be constitutionally protected.

The state, and by analogy the school as well, may also regulate the time, place and manner of admittedly free speech and expressive conduct.

Burning a flag, the Court held, is "expressive conduct" that the Government cannot prosecute.

Begging is starkly expressive conduct that invokes First Amendment concerns.

But like marching, picketing and other expressive conduct, begging has long been subject to regulation.

The real issue here is whether begging constitutes the kind of "expressive conduct" protected to some extent by the First Amendment.

Many kinds of expressive conduct, such as marching, have been held to come under the amendment's guarantee of free expression.