First Amendment

THE FIRST AMENDMENT, as well as the rest of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. It was believed that the ten amendments which constitute the Bill of Rights were needed to remedy the failure of the Constitution to provide the American public with appropriate guarantees of civil liberties. The First Amendment partially remedied this perceived oversight by providing the following rights to the American public: “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.” It is important to note that the amendment, as interpreted, does not only apply to Congress but applies to all of the federal government and, through the Fourteenth Amendment, to all state and local governments.

The first two rights provided in the First Amendment relate to the freedom of religion. The first is the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from [Page 245]creating a national religion imposed upon its citizens. The second is the Free Exercise Clause, which prohibits the government from interfering with citizens' exercise of their chosen religion.

The next rights addressed in the First Amendment are those of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The Supreme Court has interpreted this portion of the Amendment to apply differently to different types of speech. For some types, such as child pornography, obscenity, and any speech which advocates and has the purpose of inciting the use of force or the violation of the law and has the direct potential for such advocation to turn into action, the First Amendment provides no protection.

For other types of speech, such as any speech which may be considered harmful to children, defamation, speech on the radio and on television, commercial speech, and speech of public employees, the First Amendment provides limited protection. Even speech which is considered to have complete protection under the First Amendment may be regulated in certain circumstances.

The Court has created a time, place, and manner restriction which limits when, where, and in what form the free speech may take place. This restriction must be content neutral, serve a significant governmental purpose, and provide citizens with other opportunities in which to express themselves. Such speech may also be regulated if the government meets the strict scrutiny standard of proving it has a compelling interest and shows that it has used the least restrictive means possible. It is important to realize that this portion of the amendment does not only cover oral and printed communications, but also protects electronic media and symbolic speech.

Next, the right to peaceably assemble applies to public places and is restricted, as is the right of free speech, to time, place, and manner limitations, which ensure the right may be fairly exercised, but does not disrupt the peace. Finally, the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances applies differently depending on the type of expression used to demonstrate that grievances need to be addressed. If action is involved, there tends to be a greater degree of regulation than if the petition is expressed, for example, in writing. Today, such petitions are normally done though the process of lobbying, which although a constitutional right, is still regulated.

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