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1st amendment

            THE FIRST AMENDMENT "Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." What exactly are the limits to free speech, anyway? This amendment forbids the government from making any law that prohibits it. The debate against this will rage on forever, even judges can't agree. One of the big things that cause argument is people suing publishers and editors for all kinds of things. We need to remind these folks that the First Amendment is a man-made law, not something that is God-made and perfect in all situations, it does have it's limits. Our founding fathers wouldn't mind if we drew the line at a book that gives instructions on how to commit murder. There have been many songs that talk about violence against the police. A man from Texas claimed that the lyrics from Tupac Shakur's "2Pacalypse Now" inspired him to murder a deputy sheriff. But Tupac's song wasn't a how-to on killing police, with explicit instructions. There is a thick line that falls between a work of art that depicts or describes an act of violence and a book that gives advice on murder. Anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that you can't say or write anything about any subject at any time you please. That's why newspapers and magazines across the country go through a self-censorship process that's stricter than any amendment would impose. Unlike some people, most editors and publishers know that the First Amendment's forbidding government from making a new law impinging on freedom of speech doesn't mean that private individuals can't sue you. One judge might throw their cases out, another might rule for the bailiffs. Printing something that's simply offensive may be protected under our Bill of Rights. But that has never stopped individuals from suing them.


Essays Related to 1st amendment

1. The second Amendment

... what one has to say, "Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion...in private self defense." John Adams. The Second Amendment, along with the other Amendments and Constitution is for the people, by the people. In the foundation of America, the Founding Fathers wrote it for ... possible. That's why they wrote freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition to government (1st), right to a fair and speedy trial (6th), the right of trial by jury (7th), and to be secure in their houses (4th Amendment). And lets not forget the 9th and 10th, "The enumeration in t...

  • Word Count: 1807
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Beauty of the First Amendment

The 1st Amendment protects our rights and diversity as Americans. It gives us the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, petition, and religion. The aspect of America that ... dignity, the right to make one's own decisions about what they print in a newspaper or magazine. In addition, each state has the power of the 9th Amendment to protect its citezens from inappropriate or dangerous reading material, such as items with no social value like child pornography. Again, minors are affected more by this because ... to our country because it gives us our unique diversity. For example, it gives eve...

  • Word Count: 857
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Censorship And 1st Ammendment Rights

CENSORSHIP AND 1st AMENDMENT RIGHTS "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press- So why is censorship such a big deal? Maybe because the time this was written you ... know he doesn't have a problem with gays. At one point I"m sure it was an ego thing, but now it doesn't really matter. Besides in his lyrics he's just using his 1St Amendment Rights to freedom of speech. Isn't that what being in America is about, our freedoms? Personally, I think you can say whatever the hell you want to, if you"re trying ... age might be 18, kids are still determined with getti...

  • Word Count: 756
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Tenth Amendment

... struck down a congressional statute meant to prohibit child labor. The "laissez-faire" justices of the Lochner Era continually differentiated between manufacturing and commerce and used the Tenth Amendment as the constitutional basis for the conclusion that the national government could not regulate internal state production. The act prohibited companies employing children under the age of fourteen from using ... the respective states - on behalf of national security (Heaney). If any challenge arises to the U.S.A. Patriot Act, it will likely not come on a Tenth Amendment appeal, but more...

  • Word Count: 5600
  • Approx Pages: 22
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Speech Conduct and the First Amendment

... culture changed. The Supreme Court has said that speech or speech conduct, which includes photography, must adhere to specific guidelines to be protected for public use. "To achieve First Amendment protection, a plaintiff must show that he possessed: (1) a message to be communicated; and (2) an audience to receive that message, regardless of the medium in which the message is ... was attempting to express or communicate an idea through his proposed videography Rather, he stated that he wanted to videotape the performance simply for his personal archival purposes. The First Amendment, h...

  • Word Count: 1328
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography

6. What The 1st Admendment Means

Public demonstrators lock arms, hold up signs, and chant. They are protesting any number of issues that seem to plague our nation. They cry out that our government is corrupt, that we should do away with it. In many other countries, government officials would have arrested and thrown these mere protesters in jail. Yet, it the land of the free, and home of the brave, they are allowed to continue so long as they are peaceful and cause no harm to any other persons. When writing our constitution, the anti-federalists were worried that the constitution gave to much power to the leaders, and not eno...

  • Word Count: 563
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

7. 1st Amendement

"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- ).# Throughout the history of the United States of America, the Constitution has always been put to the test. In the colonial years our forefathers originally created the first amendment to allow colonists to speak out against the British. In the 17th century, the press was accurate and informative with little competition among journalists. But however times have changed and competition is becoming fierce and today in the 21st centu...

  • Word Count: 2360
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. New York Times V. Sullivan

... based on the fact he did not want to disrupt the union of the Justices. Justice Brennan's majority opinion outlined, once again what the 1st Amendment means in the consitiution. He favored in the side of New York Times because this case would have ultimately limited the freedom of the free ... show that The New York Times had knowledge that the information was false and still proceeded to publish the ad. Justice Brennan stated the 1st Amendment allows freedom of expression and in the case where malice cannot be proven the charges are not satisfactory. Thus we consider this case against t...

  • Word Count: 2487
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Case of Tinker Vs. Des Moines

... limits and the Tinker vs. Des Moines cases affirmed the rights of students to express themselves and the 1st Amendment prohibits laws that limit free expression. The case of Tinker v. Des Monies was rather a simple one. The case of whether the first ... Supreme Court case from the time of Tinker V. Des Monies case have restricted the student rights of expression, student should express themselves freely as the 1st Amendment prohibits laws that limit free expression. Justice White have discussed about the student's behavior about the armbands in a case study with Johnson. He ... Hugo Bla...

  • Word Count: 1275
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

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