The Debate Continues: Is Flag Burning Protected by the First Amendment? Adriana Ramirez First Amendment Dr. Helen Boutrous December 8, 2016 Mount Saint Mary’s University The First Amendment says: 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 of grievances. This freedom of speech clause as included in the First Amendment guarantees the citizens of America to express information and ideas freely. But is all form of speech free? On the most basic level, this clause allows for the expression of an opinion or idea without the fear of censorship by the government. It protects all forms of communication, with limits so you cannot always say anything you want, wherever you want, or whenever you want. Fighting words are not protected under the First Amendment, for instance, as are obscene expressions. Symbolic speech can be expressed in many different kinds of forms. The speech can be spoken, written, or be an action. All of these kinds of conduct could be said to express ideas in some ways, however, only some conduct is protected as symbolic speech. When the court analyzes these types of cases, they will ask the speaker about whether they intended on conveying a particular message and whether it was likely that the audience understood the message and the
Depicting on whether the flag burning is protected by the First Amendment the answer would be no while reading this particular article and evidence stated. Yes there will continuously be pros and cons of the situation in regards to the flag; because of various individual values. Therefore the court believes the flag is a symbol a representation of its special role to society and political reasoning, there will be some people who do not agree with but none deserve to be punished because of their own personal beliefs. There came a point where “burning the flag in private” would be an okay to do so. It is now clearly outweighed with the simple fact of having the highest courts prohibit public burning of the flag on grounds. They would rather articulate
The freedom of speech is one of the most precious rights that the United States citizens have. Unlike many other countries, the United States citizens have the freedom to speak their minds and to give their opinions on anything as long as it is done in a peaceful manner without having any fear of governmental retaliation. “The First Amendment guarantees our right to free expression and free association, which means that the government does not have the right to forbid us from saying what we like and writing what we like.” This does not mean that a person can say whatever he or she wants to say, but rather that a person’s right to say something is protected within certain limits.
It would be unconstitutional for the NFL to ban players from taking a knee. Under the first amendment we are guaranteed freedom of speech, expression, assembly etc. The men and women who have fought for our country and those who currently are serving, fight everyday to protect those rights. Furthermore, an individual is not obligated to stand for the pledge of allegiance and/or national anthem. Taking a knee during the anthem may be considered disrespectful to some individuals but the stance is a harmless one. On the other hand, burning the American flag has been done several times in the past and presently. As much as some of us find burning the flag a wrongful act, it is not illegal. Regardless if you're for or against each scenario, it is
The United States is well-known for its principles of freedom and democracy, which is demonstrated through the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. Thus, American citizens can openly discuss political matters; criticize the President and his Cabinet on television, radio talk show or in the newspaper; or publicly protest against the government tax policy. However, Free Speech protection becomes debatable when some American citizens burn the nation’s flag to express their disagreement to the government. The act of burning the American Flag should be constitutionally protected under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause because the act is a symbolic expression that communicates an individual’s idea or opinion about his nation; and that
Johnny Cash once quoted the statement, “ I love the freedoms we got in this country, I appreciate your freedom to burn your flag if you want to, but I really appreciate my right to bear arms I can shoot you if you try to burn mine”. Flag desecration became an issue in the early 1900s which caused a controversy of whether flag burning is right or wrong. Some people believe that they have the right to burn the flag and others believe that its is offensive. While some will say a flag burning law will restrict their first amendment right, it is very disrespectful to those who risk their lives for the country, it creates a controversy in the community, and it is an ignorant way to protest.
Your First Amendment rights are extremely close to being violated by none other than the United States Congress. I refer to the Flag Desecration Bill that, if passed, would do irreparable damage to our right to free speech and undermine the very priniciples for which the American flag stands. Fortunately, West Virginians have an ally in Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Sen. Byrd, who previously favored the bill, now fights to protect our rights by stopping the passage of this bill. I applaud his stand and want to reinforce his position. I also encourage you to join Sen. Byrd's campaign to ensure the legacy and supremacy of the greatest law in the land: the United States Constitution.
As to whether the first amendment, from the very constitution that was made to protect freedom of expression, should protect flag burning. Flag burning has been a way in which people have been able to symbolize their feelings towards a certain event or topic. This use of symbolism should be protected by the first amendment, because it is a form of expression, which the first amendment protects, and the American people are not affected by this in a way that will harm them.
The First Amendment of the United States of America is there to ensure the rights of its citizens. There are five parts to this amendment: the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition, freedom of the press, and the freedom of religion. This ensures the right to speak and display our human beliefs. Though in our history people have been shown to suppress these human rights from others and it is completely despicable. The freedom of speech is one that seems to be drowned out in our society.
Firstly, the first amendment is freedom of speech, thought, and religion. The amendment is protected by the constitution for the people. For example, the constitution protects us from the government and how they could try to take advantage of us. Thus having a constitution for our amendments the government set limits on certain amendments such as the first one. Secondly, a person is allowed the, therefore they are technically allowed to say whatever they want. For instance, you can say whatever you please besides "fire" in a crowded area. The reason for that is because somebody could get hurt, and it is unsafe. Thirdly, in any situation a person could get hurt because of your words is a limit on your freedom of speech. To illustrate, Amnesty International an online source stated, every person has the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas without fear or influence (Amnesty). Hence, not having all the freedom of speech but limited of speech. For all these reasons. There is no need for
The First Amendment states Congress will have no right to prohibit or create laws against free speech, press, or religion. This documents in written word that all forms of speech and press are legal in the United States. Therefore,
Freedom of speech is defined by the first amendment as “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of
Is Speech Free?Being a citizen of the United States, we enjoy the luxury of having freedoms, among with liberties. One of the most cultivated freedoms that we have the ability to obtain is the Freedom of Speech. Freedom of speech is looked at from many different points of views across the nation. Of course, everyone assumes that they are correct when it comes down to defining the meaning of this right. What most people do not know is that the definition does not only consist of words but also symbolic actions. The right to free speech is one of the most valuable rights an individual has as a citizen of the United States of America.
“Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech.” (Jacobus 93). Just like the Freedom of Religion there are limitations placed on the Freedom of Speech so that other people’s rights aren’t compromised. For example, people are not allowed to present true threats, or “fighting words” to another person. This restriction was put into play in the court case of Chaplinsky vs. New Hampshire. The Court ruled that “fighting words, by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace and may be punished consistent with the First Amendment.” (Ruane 3-4). In this case if someone was to use “fighting words” which is their perceived freedom of speech, it would not only violate the law, it could violate someone’s freedom of pursue life, liberty, and happiness. With this, we can see that freedom is not always as it
Symbolic speech can be expressed in many different kinds of forms. The speech can be spoken, written, or be an action. All of these kinds of conduct could be said to express ideas in some ways, however, only some conduct is protected as symbolic speech. When the court analyzes these types of cases, they will ask the speaker about whether they intended on conveying a particular message and whether it was likely that the audience understood the message and the purpose. For a court to decide that some kind of speech is speech that is not protected as speech the government must prove and show that the speech has an important reason as to not be
In contrast we must now define what freedom of speech is and how it is protected. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as: