Final answer:
Burning a draft card as a protest is not protected under the First Amendment, as such action conflicts with the government's interest in maintaining an efficient draft system, per United States v. O'Brien. Conversely, Texas v. Johnson protected flag burning as a form of symbolic speech under the First Amendment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The act of burning a draft card as a form of protest is not protected under the First Amendment, as affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. O'Brien. The Court ruled that the government's interest in maintaining an efficient and effective military draft system outweighed the incidental impact on speech caused by criminalizing draft card burning. However, it is important to differentiate this from the Supreme Court's ruling in Texas v. Johnson, where the Court held that burning the American flag as a political protest is a form of symbolic speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
Different forms of symbolic speech can be treated differently under the law, depending largely on whether the restriction of such speech serves a significant government interest and whether the restriction is no greater than necessary to achieve that interest. In the case of draft card burning, the Court found a substantial government interest that justified the restriction.