Section 400. Legislative findings and objectives

The American flag is the
  symbol of our country, of the ideals embodied in our  constitution,  and
  is the symbol of the spirit which should animate our institutions. It is
  the  emblem  of  freedom  in  its  truest  and  best  sense,  signifying
  government resting on the consent of governed; liberty regulated by law;
  the protection of the weak against the strong; and security against  the
  exercise  of  arbitrary power and as such it is recognized that the flag
  and all it symbolizes occasions deep emotional feeling in  many  people.
  Because  of  the flag's significance as a symbol of our country, and the
  feeling our citizens have toward it, the flag should not  be  a  vehicle
  for  the  expression of political, social or economic philosophy as some
  groups and individuals have tried to use it.
    Therefore, the legislature hereby finds and  declares  that  the  best
  interests  of  the  people  of  the  state of New York will be served by
  enacting a comprehensive article setting forth rules for the display and
  use of the American flag on and in public buildings within the state  in
  order  to  give  the  flag  the  respect  it  is  due  and to lessen the
  possibility that the flag could be used to express political, social  or
  economic causes.