Liberty And Justice For All

The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress

Our first amendment to the United States Constitution reads; Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the

The United States criminal justice system have been known to be one of the most injustice system in the world. Criminal justice is known as the system of law enforcement, involving police, lawyers, courts, and corrections, used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment (Dictionary.com). One of the most heartbreaking things that happen in the United States every year is innocent people being condemned for crimes that

Marriage has been defined as “the legal status, condition, or relationship that results from a contract by which one man and one woman, who have the capacity to enter into such an agreement, mutually promise to live together in the relationship of husband and wife in law for life, or until the legal termination of the relationship.” (Marriage, n.d.) In 1973, Maryland became “the first state to pass a statute banning marriage between same-sex couples.” (Freedom to Marry, 2015) After much debate, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled for a ‘Freedom to Marry’ in all states, even against the states who still had a ban on same-sex marriage. (Freedom to Marry, 2015) Obviously, even with a federal ruling and over thirty years, there is still a

The First Amendments Establishment clause prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” One argument regarding to The Establishment Clause is how to manipulate the government’s actions that relate to religion. (law.cornell.edu) The First Amendment also has a Free Exercise Clause. This clause protects citizen’s right to practice religion to their will. Their right is protected as long as their practice does not disturb “public morals.” (uscourts.gov)

While writing the constitution the founding fathers said “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” When they said this they

The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. This Amendment was created to protect the first United States citizens, who were escaping religious persecution and sought the right to freedom of religion and expression without government interference. The United States government is the first in world history to deliberately allow religious freedom. Though the First Amendment states that there should be some kind of separation between church and state, even the highest branches of the United States government use religion to hold citizens and or themselves accountable; thus, many people

The definition of marriage has changed over time. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the United States defined marriage as a union between a consenting man and woman, of non-African decent (Stahlberg, 2008, p. 443). This, however, changed after the civil war. In 1868 two consenting adults of opposite gender could marry someone of the same race, but this was also restructured in 1967 to allow marriage of all consenting adults of opposite genders regardless of race (Stahlberg, 2008, p. 443). Today, the law looks very different. Recently, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marriage (gay marriage, 2015).

Marriage is universally understood to be the legal union between a man and a woman. This acknowledgement, however, has recently generated dispute and controversy in certain individuals, primarily homosexuals and supporters of homosexual marriages. This opposition, due to this mainstream view, exists because certain states such as Minnesota deny same-sex marriages.

According to DOMA, “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife” (sec 3). Until recently 2013, the US Supreme Court finally delivered the verdict that declared section 3 of the DOMA, which is the rejection of right to gay marriage is unconstitutional (Shapiro 208). In “Gay Marriage Is A Fundamental Right” by Nathan Goetting, “The right to many, and to marry the person of one's choice, is a fundamental right and a necessary aspect of human happiness. This has been an explicitly stated abiding principle since the Court used its power of judicial review to strike down as unconstitutional a legislature's definition of marriage in 1967.” Currently, 17 states in the United States have legalized the right to same sex marriage. The realization of DOMA is unconstitutional has further evidenced that gay marriage is one of the civil right that should not be taken away by the government, and it is an inevitable changes that open doors for equality and equity.

The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

A metamorphosis in how the American judicial system perceives same-sex marriage, has developed over the past forty years. In October, 1971, the Supreme Court ruled that: "The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family, is as old as the book of Genesis.”

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Mother Jones stood up and fought for workers’ rights for mere children, marching with some all the way to the president to talk to him. Cesar Chavez was a well-known immigrant workers’ rights activist who had lived through the conditions he was trying to prevent. Emma Watson is a young feminist who is adamant about her cause and speaks out to the world. These chosen individuals may have campaigned for different things, but they all fought for enacting simple equality for everybody using a drive of passion and courage.

“For liberty and justice for all” (USC 4 Sec. 4). In present day society, it is often assumed mainly by minorities that we live in a racist country despite the claims by higher government organizations that “fight” for equality. Due to many police brutality cases ranging from the nineties with the Rodney King beating to just recently in 2014 with the Michael Brown shooting, it is clear that racism is still very present in this country, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. US News even concluded from a study done by the NYPD that Blacks are 25% more likely to be shot in New York than Whites (NYPD). Racism however does not only exist between Blacks and Whites, which is what people inevitably think when they hear racism. What I wanted to know was how do college students of all races that attend a predominantly White institution view the justice system as far as race is concerned. I thought it would be interesting to see what they think because people tend to believe that non-Whites who attend White schools are “White”, and if that is true does that mean that they carry the same opinions as the Whites do? A survey taken by US News concluded that Blacks and White in fact carry different opinions about racism. Whites think more optimistically about crushing the race barrier that currently exists and Blacks have a more pessimistic opinion and are more likely to say that racism will always exist (US News). What I actually found almost consistently throughout the responses is

Liberty, equality and justice. Those three words are the values the United States was founded on. Over time the United States has struggled to abide by these values. However they try to promote them in schools, in court and in work. An African American and women do not have the same treatment as a Caucasian. In 1955, there was a trial for the murder of Emmett Till. The United States highlights these values but, fail to follow through with them.