Reflections on the First Amendment Paper Ephraim Iivula HIS/301 May 29, 2011 Kenneth Johnston University of Phoenix Reflections on the First Amendment According to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, “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.” Consequently, citizens from different occupations often file legal challenges for court adjudication on perceived injustice. This paper focuses on numerous momentous cases related to …show more content…
Ashcroft, Attorney General, et al. versus Free Speech Coalition, et al. (2002), the Supreme Court upheld the judgment because the expanded definition of the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 contravenes the provision under the First Amendment. Consequently, the appellant feared that leaving that expanded definition unchallenged in the Supreme Court curtails freedom of speech as enshrined in the Constitution. The Supreme Court interpretation became necessary as the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 led to the plaintiff’s misinterpretation of the regulation or deliberate distortion thereof to advance unlawful ends. Instead, the merit of the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 bans unethical materials depicting children and not just about any pornographic material. In the case of FCC versus Pacifica Foundation, (1978), the Supreme Court hearing became necessary to offer clarity on Section 326 of the Telecommunications Act regarding its limitations and the FCC jurisdiction. The appellant assumes Section 326 of the Telecommunications Act prevents FCC the authority to review the content of completed broadcasts. However, the Supreme Court manifested that FCC could still sanction a station broadcasting obscene, indecent, or profane materials. In the case of Sherbert against Verner et al., members of South Carolina Employment Security Commission, et al. (1963), Sherbert’s employer denied her unemployment benefits because
“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” - Second Amendment. Throughout history, this sentence of twenty seven words has caused an intense debate. The polemic is that some people claim that a gun control policy is unconstitutional, while others disagree and even say it is necessary in order to reduce crime. Now, what does gun control mean? If it means to analyze who is responsible enough to own a gun by a “Universal Background Check”; that sounds right to everyone. But in the article “What Are Obama’s Gun Control Proposals? An Easy Guide” published in the National Journal by Matt Vasilogambros. The author states that the “gun-control
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 assemble peacefully, and to petition the Government for e redress of grievances.
In 1789, the Congress created the Bill of Rights to make sure the people are protected and the government has limitations. The Third Amendment states, “No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” (“Bill of Rights”). Throughout the years the amendments have been manipulated, in a way, to be used in a certain way. In researching the Third Amendment, one will find the past and present of the Quartering of Soldiers through the origins of the law, modern application of the amendment, and its current effectiveness.
The First Amendment is the first section of the Bill of Rights and is often considered the most important part of the U.S Constitution because it guarantees the citizens of United States the essential personal freedoms of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly and the freedom to petition the Government. Thanks to the rights granted by the First Amendment, Americans are able to live in a country where they can freely express themselves, speak their mind, pray without interference, protest in peace and where their opinions are taken into consideration, which is something not many other nationalities have the fortune of saying. The Founding Fathers were the framers of the Constitution of the U.S., and the responsible for the
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech," this Amendment is the most important part of the constitution. Without free speech, we the people of the United States would not be able to speak openly and freely about issues that affect our everyday life.
Ratified December 15, 1791, the bill of rights was added to the U.S. Constitution as a way to ensure the protection of every individual’s rights. The bill itself is a list of rights which limits the power of the federal government and gives power back to the people in the form of rights and liberties. Some of this rights include freedom of speech, religion, and press, but perhaps the one right that still to this day has many people questioning the meaning behind its wording is the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment states that “a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed” (Acosta, 2008). In short the amendment grants the right to bear arms,
The First Amendments is a blessing that the United States is fortunate enough to have. First and foremost, First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion and expression, without any government interference ("First Amendment" n.p.). The freedom of expression includes the right to free speech, press, assembly, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances ("First Amendment" n.p.). Redress of grievances guarantees people the right to ask the government to provide relief for a wrong through courts or other governmental action ("First Amendment" n.p.). People are allowed to practice their own religions and do not have to conform to one religion, all because of the First Amendment. People's rights are protected with no government interference.
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 assemble peacefully, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court. Roth ran a business in New York by selling books, photos, and magazines. Roth was charged with 4 counts for sending inappropriate circulars and an inappropriate book. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Roth’s appeal. Alberts was prosecuted for the sale of lewd books, and for writing inappropriate advertisements within the books. Albert’s conviction was upheld by a lower court. The Court must decide if indecent material is protected by the freedom of speech and press in the First Amendment. All ideas, even the most foolish, controversial, and intolerable, are protected by free speech. The only exception is when they interfere in more important safeties. However, indecency has been demonstrated to have no redeeming
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is part of our countries Bill of Rights. The first amendment is perhaps the most important part of the U.S. Constitution because the amendment guarantees citizens freedom of religion, speech, writing and publishing, peaceful assembly, and the freedom to raise grievances with the Government. In addition, amendment requires that there be a separation maintained between church and state.
The 1st Amendment forbids Congress from enacting laws that would regulate speech or press before publication or punish after publication. At various times many states passed laws in contradiction to the freedoms guaranteed in the 1st Amendment. However broadcast has always been considered a special exemption to free speech laws for two reasons. 1) the most important reasons is the scarcity of spectrum and the 2) is the persuasiveness of the medium. Because radio and TV come into the house, and may be heard or seen by unsupervised children, the government feels a special responsibility to protect the American people. As Herbert Hoover said to, "doublegaurd them."
The United States of America seems to be protected by a very important historical document called the Constitution. Despite the fact that it was written and signed many years ago, the American people and their leaders still have faith in the Constitution. One of the major statements of the Constitution is the First Amendment, freedom of speech. Although it is difficult to decide what is offensive and what is not, it is clear to see that songs of rape, violence, bigotry, and songs containing four letter words are completely unnecessary for susceptible minds to acknowledge. It is reasonable to say that more people listen to music everyday and for that reason, music tends to be more influential. The American
There’s no crisis of free speech both are talking about the controversy today about hate speech or just freedom of speech itself. In the first article, it was discussing how Berkely hired security and police as a preventative measure in case a protest broke out and proceeded to talk about how hate speech is and should be taken care of. With the second article, it explains how freedom of speech is not really being censored and that the whole thing in is a myth. Personally, I agree with the second article now with the internet and social media literally anyone can say their opinion and finds others who support it and that supports a statement in the first article is "Unfortunately, the bad
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."
The First Amendment gives us freedom of speech and allows us to speak whatever one has on their mind and being able to express feelings, emotions, and hate, if needed. I work in a restaurant, and have encountered several customers who enjoy to speak whatever they want. I work as a hostess, so I have to be able to communicate with the guest and hold a conversation with them. As I continue to work in customer service, I realize that not many people understand how much hate speech actually happens. Weeks ago, we had a customer respond in a very hateful way because we did not serve something they wanted and they were furious with my coworker and I, and started giving us a difficult time. We grabbed our manager and told him the problem, and said