Persuasive Essay On The First Amendment

In 1971, the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, granting eighteen-year-olds the right to vote. Before this landmark decision, citizens of the United States “had to be at least 21 years old” in order to cast their vote in an election (National Constitution Center, n.d.). It was the escalation of the Vietnam War that led to this expansion of voting rights. During the Vietnam War, thousands of eighteen-, nineteen-, and twenty-year-old men were drafted into military service.

What is the age that a person should be able to claim rights under the first amendment? The first thing would come to most people's mind is eighteen. However, upon examination, someone could easily justify that a sixteen year old who is in his or her second year of college would have the ability to form an opinion and should be allowed to express it. What makes this student different from another student who, at sixteen, drops out of school and gets a job, or a student who decides to wear a shirt that says "PRO-CHOICE" on it? While these students differ in many aspects such as education level, their opinion can equally be silenced under the first amendment. One of the most blatant abuses of the first amendment right to free speech is

More than than 270,000 troops are being denied their gun rights,mainly from the thoughts of those who are against the 2nd Amement. It really is common in the United States. And they also are very powerful and one shot can change your life for the worst, if used incorrectly. And that shot can or even could killed somebody. And that what makes them deadly. Guns are essiential to the United States of America because guns give us protection, and they are used for hunting and other recreational activities, and they really aren’t the biggest problem to the country.

What is free speech? Does the term ‘free speech’ cover offensive words? Painful ones? Words that disrespect others? What about objectionable, or even wrong beliefs? When is speech illegal? What is exactly meant by free speech? According to Rampell, the term ‘free speech’ includes ‘hate speech’, and is therefore protected by the first amendment (np). This means that even messages we don’t like, agree with, feel uncomfortable about, or even are disgusted by, are legal. Unfortunately, many college students consider harmful words an assault, and some students believe that such verbal attacks can and should be met with violence (French np). Students and speakers today are discriminated against in classrooms and other scenes where free speech and debate should be especially cherished.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is perhaps the most sweeping and has likely impacted the general jurisprudence of the Supreme Court the most of any other amendment. This is because, where all other right-protecting amendments protect something specific, the fourteenth amendment was designed to ensure that states guaranteed due process rights, applied the law equally, and protected the “privileges [and] immunities of citizens of the United States.”

Only this month, 59 were killed and over 500 people were injured during a country music concert in Vegas in what is now known as the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Last year, 49 were killed and 58 were injured in a gay nightclub in Florida. In 2012, a mass shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School took 27 lives, 20 of them being first graders. The list of these unthinkable and stomach-churning acts is quickly turning endless, forcing us to rethink why we truly have the right to bear arms. Many defend the second amendment by claiming we need this right for self defense, which is the most wretched part.When we look at what we have lost compared to what we have earned in this fight to keep the right to bear arms, this privilege does not seem worth the sacrifice of so many lives. In today’s world, we do not defense through guns but from them. Our policymakers keep trying to reach a compromise by putting in place certain regulations. “Some states require would-be gun owners to fulfill a firearms safety course in order to obtain their license.” “Such training courses, however, even when not required, are very advisable for the would-be gun owner, as they ensure that he or she has all the necessary information on liability issues, on safety, and even on care and maintenance of the gun” ( How to Get a Gun License 1). This lack of attention illustrates that despite the multiple tragedies that have taken place in our nation, some states do not even require a simple safety course that ensures the safety of our people. Furthermore, it is required that one must pass a background check. The questions asked on the test are the following:

The US Constitution established America’s national government, fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. The framers of the Constitution ensured that the government would be just, and protect its citizens from internal discord. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments in The Constitution and are to be our most basic of rights. The 5th amendment states “life, liberty, and property without due process of the law”. The 5th Amendment protects people from being held for committing a crime unless properly prosecuted, from being tried twice for the same crime, from being forced to testify against yourself, and from property being taken without payment. It also contains due process guarantees. Due Process gives

Following the American Civil War, the bloodiest armed conflict on US soil, slavery had been outlawed from the US. It had taken the US until January 31, 1865, less than two-hundred years ago, for slavery to be abolished. Yet, it was still abolished, albeit, later than many other nations throughout the world. It had taken yet over another year for the fourteenth amendment to be passed in June 13, 1866, making all former slaves into citizens. But, perhaps the greatest and most important right of all, the right essential to any democracy or republic, the right to vote, was given to former slaves through the fifteenth amendment.

America has been built on freedom throughout the years. Freedom to speak, freedom to choose, freedom to worship, and freedom to do just about anything you want within that of the law. America’s law has been designed to protect and preserve these freedoms. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. It assures citizens that the federal government shall not restrict freedom of worship. It specifically prohibits Congress from establishing an official, government supported church. Under The First Amendment, the federal government cannot require citizens to pay taxes to support a certain church, nor can people be prohibited from worshipping in any way they see fit. However, if a certain religion

The right to bear arms is a birth given right to all Americans by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Second Amendment has become controversial recently due to the technological advancement of firearms. Modern firearms are capable of both high rates of fire and greater capacities of ammunition, unlike the single shot muskets that were available at the time of the Second Amendment’s conception. American liberals view these improvements in firearms as dangerous and unnecessary. However, no matter how dangerous firearms may be, the Second Amendment is a necessity for one factor alone: protection from one’s own government and it must be upheld. The Second Amendment provides a physical tool for Americans to defend themselves against a tyrannical government, it allows Americans to form militias against a tyrannical government, and it allows Americans to maintain comparable firearms of the U.S. government in order to prevent the potential loss of American freedoms in the future.

President Ronald Reagan said “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it down to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” As citizens of America, it is our responsibility to keep the freedoms we have thriving in our everyday lives. Among these are the initial rights given to Americans in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Of these five freedoms, three are constant in our everyday lives. The freedom of religion, the freedom of press, and the freedom of speech.

The First Amendment one that is watered down, serves as example of the freedom we as Americans have. It is best known as the amendment that lets us say what we want when we want. There is more to it that gets overlooked. It blocks government from establishing a theocracy, grants the people the right to peacefully assemble and protest the government for a redress of grievances. Our press is independent and is given freedom to publish at will. Our freedoms embolden us to speak out and organize for progress and against society's wrongs. Sometimes groups will organize to speak out but will sink to extreme measures as a means of expression. The first amendment has seen challenges in recent months. “Donald Trump referred to the press, and I'm quoting his exact words, as "dishonest, disgusting, and scum."Just ten days ago, you might have heard in a press conference, President Donald Trump said that the "press is out of control."(Chemerinsky, 553). To clashes between different ideologies on college campuses with some initiating riots. The first amendment grants many freedoms, however it does not grant protection from consequence.

The 26th amendment gives U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older the right to vote in elections. In 1971, the 26th amendment was passed by Congress on March 23rd and added to the Constitution on July 1st. During World War II, the argument over reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 was a long-debated topic that continued over to the Vietnam War. This debate started because men who were under the age of 21 were denied voting rights but were being enlisted to fight for the United States. While the United States was focused on WWII, President Roosevelt decreased the military draft age so that people who were 18 were able to be drafted into the military. The youth voting rights movement used the saying “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” as a slogan for their movement.

I respect your opinion on why you do not support Amendment 2, I completely understand where you’re coming from. It probably will be easer for the public to get marijuana, however the Amendment is in the best interest of those who need it. People out there are truly sick and they deserve something that could possibly help them that isn’t going to cost them an arm and a leg, and for now medical marijuana is the answer. There are going to be people who try to abuse the system in order to get what they want/need, but for now I truly believe this is the best thing we can do to.

As we sit and watch some of your favorite television shows, Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, and The Blacklist, we can catch the prominent phrases, "right to remain silent…” and/or “I plead the fifth” in one or two scenes leading to interrogation. Although the television shows are fiction, the statements are factual and are part of the U.S. Constitution to protect a person against self-incrimination. Self-incrimination plays a vast part of the Bill of Right, specifically the Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment has protected many Americans from punishment. Yet, this Amendment also has made it possible for guilty verdicts in criminal cases. This was possible with the historical adoption of the Fifth Amendment, the implementation of the five different clauses, and numerous criminal cases that established the strength of the Fifth Amendment.