In the hypothetical “Flights of Fancy and the Freedom of Speech,” Jeremy is a 16-year-old video game addict who is suspended after posting some fanfiction on facebook which involves characters from his favorite video game, Space Traveler XVIII, plotting to kill one of the characters, Waroomba. The characters are unable to kill Waroombra, however, because he has a copy of the United States Constitution. After the attempted murder, Waroombra grabs an assault rifle and says that he will bring it everywhere with him including the beach, gym, and school. The next day, another student reported the post to the principle, Principle Underwood, and Jeremy is suspended. After being suspended, Jeremy and his family are upset claiming that the school suspension violated Jeremy’s first amendment privileges. The question for this hypothetical is: “Did Principal Underwood violate Jeremy’s first amendment rights when she suspended him from school for his Facebook posting which, among other things, included a character’s reference to bringing an assault rifle to school? “ In the past, the Rule of Law for the First Amendment was that American citizens had the right not to speak (West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)), right for students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war (Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)), the right to use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages (Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971)), the right
This article emphasizes the First Amendment and its limits. In this article, there are many examples and cases that involve the First Amendment and how it is used. In Tinker v. Des Moines, John Tinker and some fellow students that attended Des Moines public school were suspended for wearing black armbands to school. They wore the armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The school district was afraid of the outcome of the students wearing the armbands rather than acknowledging their freedom of speech The students then brought a suit against the school saying that the suspension violated their rights of freedom of speech. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that the students did nothing wrong. They silently expressed
The first amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. People have been exercising the first amendment even before it was established. During the Vietnam War, there was a rave of people exercising their first amendment. A landmark case is Tinker versus Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969. The facts of the case is that a group of public school pupils sported black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. Eventually, the group of white teens was garner and suspended for not removing the particular object from their body and was not arrested for breaking the rules. The assembly of teens that was suspended sued the district for violating their first amendment and won the case. Another example
Op-ed is short for opinion editorial. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary Op-ed pages are typically published by magazines and newspapers to express personal opinions of the writer. In the short essay “Free-Speech Follies” by Stanley Fish was written about “op-ed pages crying out first amendment when op-ed pages they published turns out to be the cause of outrage and controversy” (para.3). The short essay also implied that people are using freedom of speech in the wrong way to get away with saying anything that could offend or threaten some minority groups. Stanley Fish also introduces self-censorship and how we should be self-censored when it comes to opinion based pages that we are publishing out to the public.
The first Amendment of the United States Constitution 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 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States
In order to find truth to anything, one must make multiple suggestions, ask many questions, and sometimes ponder the unspeakable. Without doing so, there would be no process of elimination; therefore, truth would be virtually unattainable. Now, in our attempts to either find truth, express our beliefs and opinions, or generally use the rights we are given constitutionally, we are often being criticized and even reprimanded. Our freedom to voice our opinion(s) is being challenged, as critics of free speech are taking offense to what seems like anything and everything merely controversial and arguably prejudice. As people continue to strive for a nation free of prejudice and discrimination, where everyone is equal, safe and
Freedom of expression has always been a heated and heavily debated topic throughout our society, more so in recent times due to the increasing amount of freedoms that we gain. However, it is only natural that free speech be something of extreme amounts of conflict since this right is expressed in the very first amendment of the Constitution. But, how loosely should such an important document within our history be interpreted? This has been a question for years, and it is obvious that this particular amendment presents itself through our day-to-day activities. The real issue with freedom of speech is that, even though it is presented to us, there are obviously people who would abuse it to invoke emotional distress, or even to invoke acts of
Created September 25,1978 and ratified December 15, 179, the Bill of Rights was imputed into society as a tool to establish law,order, and morality. James Madison, a political theorist, was known as the father of the Bill of Rights. One of the most important amendments in the Bill of Rights is the right to freedom of speech, expression and media. In the Bill of Rights, 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 guarantees the citizens of America that they have the right to freely express themselves about anything, including political arguments and views. This amendment also guarantees the press/media the right to overtly publish their ideas on any topic in the newspaper. The purpose of this amendment is to assure America’s people that they shouldn’t worry about being censored or punished for the expression of their feelings because they are human just as everyone else.
A very popular constitutional issue in America is the First Amendment. The First Amendment is meant to protect, but in today’s society it is being questioned that the argument is being overly used. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference (Esmaili). Freedom of religion created the separation of church and state. It prohibits the government from interfering with a person's practice of their religion. The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without government interference or regulation. The right of freedom of expression gives the right to assemble and gather for peaceful and lawful purposes. It was adopted into the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Court later interpreted the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. Putting this is layman’s term, you can pretty much say what you want without being penalized.
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.
Along the same lines, the 1st Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens freedom of speech. On June 8, 1789 this amendment was put into the constitution. Madison said at the time, ''the people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.'' Well in 1917, this inviolable right of speech was no longer inviolable. The Supreme Court decided that you only have the freedom of speech while not endangering others or presenting a clear and present danger. That seems fair. This makes the law able to punish people who pull a fire alarm when there’s no fire, or call in a false bomb threat, but since when was handing out a pamphlet that had your beliefs on it illegal. Ask Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer who were charged and prosecuted for making pamphlets talking about
In today's society though, people are starting to become extremely confused on what the First Amendment actually covers. For example, burning the American flag in a protest is actually protected by the First Amendment, but many people see burning the
Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution of December 1791, guaranteed the civil liberty of freedom of speech. It outlined that congress is not allowed to make any laws that may bridge a citizen’s freedom of speech, religion, press, and the right to assemble. This style of liberty gives all Americans the opportunity to express their thoughts openly without being shut down by the government. For example, there have been a great deal of protest the current president. Although, he is the president and should be respected Americans still have the right to display their opinions
The first and inargueably the most significant of the amendments to our Constitution is the First Amendment. The amendment that established our freedoms as citizens of our new confederation. The First Amendment insured, among other things, freedom of speech and of the press. Since the establishment of these rights, they have often been in question. People have debated over, "What is too much freedom?", and "When is this
Like most democratic nations in the world, the United States has had its own fair share of issues with hate speech. There has been a lot of controversy over whether hate speech should be regulated. In analyzing the concept of free speech, one cannot ignore that it does not occur in a vacuum. There have been all types of debasements ranging from ethnic, religious, racial and gendered stereotyping. Freedom of speech inherently includes all other fundamental human rights. Hence, as acknowledged through natural rights, other rights and personhood should adamantly be included within this scope of this protection. Hate speech is a limit on free speech, as it not only puts the victim under deliberate psychological and physical harm, but also
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an established religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof'; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This amendment, founded on the strong and open minds of the Founding Fathers, made certain that free speech be incorporated into America's free and democratic society.