First Amendment Rights

Some people do not respect First Amendment rights such as the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of protest (assembly), and petition the government for a negotiation of grievances. The first amendment is classy. Thomas Jefferson believed in a separation of church and state but in modern times, extremists do not want this reasonable act to continue. They would rather turn the United States into a theocracy, this is something some religious people want, be aware. You see, the government cannot change the law just like that without a reason. In the early days of colonizing the United States, many immigrants had fled religious persecution in their own countries, sometimes to find more in the United States.

James Madison was the first author of the 1st amendment. You see, the Constitution has been a document that for the last two hundred years or so, few people read about. You see, every last one of us, so long as we aren’t harming anybody, have the right to practice freedom of religion. This should give anybody going door-to-door pause. You cannot force people to convert to extremist ways of thinking. This is ridiculous.

The Mormons in 1878, wanted to continue polygamous practices, but the government went after them, jailing hundreds of religious leaders. Religious belief cannot interfere with the rule of law. This is what those of us who understand the Constitution know about. Free speech, on the other hand, refers to politicians running for office, and what they can say based on the money they accept from organizations that fund their campaign. Corporations and individuals do have an enormous impact on political campaigns. We do not want the corruption caused by corporations or wealthy individuals to influence the function of politics in any way.

“Hate speech,” or low valued speech, is something that puts people down on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin and sexual orientation. Whistleblowers of classified information are not necessarily protected under freedom of speech since they put government secrets in danger. Speech needs to be safeguarded as our Constitutional right. Hate speech is legal but it is still crossing a social line of immoral behavior. I disagree and feel that hate speech should not be allowed since I have been subject to unnecessary harassment most of my life. The law controls what kind of speech people can use.

Some states do ban psychotherapists’ attempts to change sexual orientation through therapy. Freedom of speech and of the press is a thorny issue if only because they say whatever they want, both the liberal media as well as the conservative media. The government needs to protect the interests of its own while accepting the right of assembly and petition. Protests are covered under the right of assembly with whatever signs the petitioners are holding up for all to see. Picket lines for striking workers demanding their rights is a commonplace scene in the United States, unlike other countries.

We are lucky we have the values we have because, in China, people cannot protest for any reason. One of the early legislative issues facing the United States happened when John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives, not as President, petitioned for the freedom of slaves. The House set up a “gag rule” in order to limit petitions, causing the House to rule it unconstitutional in 1844. Having a petition clause in our governance system serves to remind our leaders that they have a duty to acknowledge, debate, or vote on issues raised by a petition. According to free speech rules, the government cannot establish any one religion. You see, many religions disagree with each other because nobody can agree with anything. Our government protects the freedom of speech rights of the Nazis, as well as the freedom of speech rights of the liberals. Public officials can lead meetings in prayer so long as the audience is not coerced into participating. Public schools cannot force children to pray due to the separation of church and state. Constitutional law is forever in flux with the changing needs of changing times.

Works Cited

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-i/the-free-exercise-clause/interp/32

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-i/assembly-and-petition-joint/interp/34

https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/1/religion-speech-press-assembly-and-petition

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/06/what-first-amendment-protects-and-what-doesnt/469920002/