Freedom of Speech
Freedom of speech is a civil liberty protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted on December 15, 1791.
- 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.
This civil liberty grants all United States citizens the right to express themselves and enjoy the expression of others without interference of the government. This freedom of expression is often tested and can be the center of controversy because of how it is interpreted. The courts have recognized the Bill of Rights as having the intention of rights of privacy and the separation of church and state, even though it is not clearly stated. It is also thought that the amendment refers only to government interference, which leads to individual corporations and businesses violating these freedoms.
The following types of speech are not protected constitutionally: defamation or false statements, child pornography, obscenity, damaging the national security interests, verbal acts, and fighting words. Because these categories fall outside of the First Amendment privileges, the courts can legally restrict or criminalize any expressive act within them. Other expressions, including threat of bodily harm or publicizing illegal activity, may also be ruled illegal.
Read more about this topic: Civil Liberties In The United States
Famous quotes containing the words freedom and/or speech:
“The American adolescent, then, is faced, as are the adolescents of all countries who have entered or are entering the machine age, with the question: freedom from what and at what price? The American feels so rich in his opportunities for free expression that he often no longer knows what it is he is free from. Neither does he know where he is not free; he does not recognize his native autocrats when he sees them.”
—Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)
“In a symbol there is concealment and yet revelation: here therefore, by silence and by speech acting together, comes a double significance.... In the symbol proper, what we can call a symbol, there is ever, more or less distinctly and directly, some embodiment and revelation of the Infinite; the Infinite is made to blend itself with the Finite, to stand visible, and as it were, attainable there. By symbols, accordingly, is man guided and commanded, made happy, made wretched.”
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)