1st Amendment - we need to understand!
May 20, 2025 15:49:02 GMT
Merge, missmiss, and 3 more like this
Post by jill8909 on May 20, 2025 15:49:02 GMT
lots of misunderstandings about the 1st Amendment's guarantee of free speech.
here's what it 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."
Notice the "Congress shall make no law.."
This means that our right to free speech only applies to the Federal Government. Other provisions of the constitution have been interpreted to apply this prohibition to the states. So - Congress and the States can't pass a law that limits what I say. There are exceptions - it's what makes lawsuits and Supreme Court decisions. For example, libel, defamation, and privacy laws can limit what we say.
However, I don't have a "free speech" right to tell someone on this board to "shut up, your views are horrible". the people who run this forum aren't the government and therefore the forum has a right to limit speech.
here's what it 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."
Notice the "Congress shall make no law.."
This means that our right to free speech only applies to the Federal Government. Other provisions of the constitution have been interpreted to apply this prohibition to the states. So - Congress and the States can't pass a law that limits what I say. There are exceptions - it's what makes lawsuits and Supreme Court decisions. For example, libel, defamation, and privacy laws can limit what we say.
However, I don't have a "free speech" right to tell someone on this board to "shut up, your views are horrible". the people who run this forum aren't the government and therefore the forum has a right to limit speech.
