Why Is The First Amendment Important?

Neil Gaiman once said, “The current total of countries in the world with First Amendments is one. You have guaranteed the freedom of speech. Other countries don’t have that.” At the time of the amendments’ creation, a vast majority of operating countries had not yet granted their people such freedoms. Granting every citizen of the United States this right seemed to have been an important landmark in this nation’s history. Along with others, this right is declared to the people in the first amendment of the constitution. The first amendment is the most important because it grants people freedom of speech, prohibits prior restraint, and declares the right to peaceable assembly.

In The Gay Marriage Case, Obergefell v Hodges, the United States Supreme Court decided that a state may not prohibit same-sex marriage. Instead, it emphasized that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to the gay society through the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment of the United States of America Constitution. The involved decision maker in the case was Justice Anthony Kennedy, who gave four primary reasons for his decision.

The final decision of the Court found the act of compelling students to salute the flag was unconstitutional. They described the salute as a form of communication and having it be a “compulsory unification of opinion," was contradictory to the First Amendment. Despite the Barnettes focusing on the religious component of the case, the Court only addressed the issues dealing with the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and protecting students from being forced to recite the pledge. As Justice Jackson mentioned, “ no higher authority can navigate the “orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion”. 319 US 624 (1943) Thus requiring children to recite the pledge goes against our liberties.

Civil Rights Act guarantees every citizen equality. Marriage equality falls under that part of the constitution that says that grants every U.S. citizen equal protection of the laws. With same-sex marriage being legalized, the protection of the first amendment is said to be in jeopardy by some American citizens. 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 grants any religious groups to freely exercise their right to oppose same-sex marriage.

The first amendment states your basic liberties. It is one of the most important bills in the bill of rights. These basic liberties are freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government. This amendment also has a lot of historical significance and there are a lot of court cases today that involve this amendment. There are also quite a few current issues involving the first amendment.

In my opinion the most important amendment is the first amendment. The reason I believe that the first amendment is the most important is because us the freedom to do and say anything that we want. The first amendment gives us the power to be ourselves and to express ourselves in ways that we wouldn't be able to if this amendment didn’t exist. The first amendment was established so that people could be protected from ridicule because of the religion they believed in, the way they spoke, what they spoke of and, what they wrote in news papers or in books.

The first amendment formed our country and brought us together to be the free country we are. The first amendment talks about how we get the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, Freedom of press. Amendment 1 is the most important Amendment because it doesn’t allow Congress to make laws about respending religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and abridging the freedom of speech or press.

The First Amendment was established on December 15, 1791. It was one of the ten amendments that constitutes the bill of rights. These amendments were made to the constitution to protect the people from the government having too much control over the people’s basic freedoms. The First Amendment simply states that congress shall make no laws that impede the people of the United States from freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press and freedom to peaceably assemble and freedom of petitioning for grievances.

Without the basic freedoms that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution allots to United States citizens, the societal progression that has been made in more than 200 years would be lost. The courageous words of Martin Luther King Jr. would only be a whisper among an insignificant-sized crowd without the freedom to speak openly and voice one’s opinions. The controversial pieces of art created by artists like Richard Serra, David Hammons and Andy Warhol would never have graced the insides of prominent art museums. A Catholic church and a synagogue could not reside beside each other if the First Amendment’s freedom to practice any religion had not been put into effect by the nation’s forefathers.

On September 17, 1787, the United States Constitution was signed by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, who were directed by George Washington. The 1787 convention was called to draft a new legal system for the United States now that the states were free and colonized. This new Constitution was made to increase federal authority while still protecting the rights of citizens. It established America’s National Government. In 1971, the Bill of Rights were added to Constitution containing the 10 amendments guaranteeing protection for citizens. The first commandment consisting of freedom of speech and religion. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

The first amendment protects civilians right to freedom of speech but this freedom is often debated

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.

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 the essential freedoms we as United States citizens deserve. This amendment gives us Freedom of peaceful assembly, speech, press, religion and the freedom to petition the Government. It is thought to be the most important freedom of the United States. Only because of this right we are able to speak our mind freely, pray without judgment, express ourselves, and protest peacefully. Our Founding Fathers had been Framers of the Constitution and they are responsible for all the rights documented and established in the United States.

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.