Flag burning

[Emsworth]

Flag burning clearly is symbolic speech. 

So is cross burning.

The First Amendment protects cross burning as well as flag burning.

[Emsworth]

From my understanding, Virginia vs Black upheld that cross-burning was not protected under the First Amendment.

In Virginia v. Black, the Supreme Court held that cross-burning with the intent to intimidate could be outlawed. Merely burning a cross, say, in one's backyard, without intimidating anyone, cannot be prohibited.

[Emsworth]

I haven't through this entire thread, so I apologize if this has already been covered, but does anyone know the reasoning behind McConnell's and Bennett's 'no' votes?

I don't know about Bennett, but McConnell is quite firmly committed to freedom of speech (see this column by him).