Informative Essay: The First Amendment
The first amendment states that 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. These rights are human given rights which all citizens of the United States are guaranteed, but in the past and still today these rights are being violated. Currently, the first amendment is at risk in our society because the government and people with power are trying to restrict the citizen’s rights of freedom of speech, religion, and the right to protest. The first amendment is at risk in our society because the people’s right to freedom
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To illustrate, according to Des Moines Independent School District that took place in 1969, “John and Mary Beth Tinker and their friend Chris Eckhardt wore black armbands to school in Des Moines, Iowa, to protest the war in Vietnam. School officials told them to remove the armbands, and when they refused they were suspended… The Supreme Court sided with the students. Students and teachers don’t ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,’” (Jacobs). This proves how the right to protest is at risk in our society because the students were simply protesting the war in Vietnam peacefully, but the school said they couldn’t when they were allowed to do so. Also, the right to protest is at risk, according to Edwards v. South Carolina, “petitioners, all of whom were black, organized a march to the South Carolina State House grounds… The march was peaceful, did not block pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and was conducted in an orderly fashion on public property; a group of approximately thirty police officers confronted the group and ordered its members to disperse or to submit to arrest… The Court held that the arrests and convictions violated the rights of the marchers” (Oyez). This shows how the right to protest is at risk in our society because as stated above, the protesters held a peaceful protest, which was completely legal, but were arrested for no reason which violated their rights to
To illustrate, according to Des Moines Independent School District that took place in 1969, “John and Mary Beth Tinker and their friend Chris Eckhardt wore black armbands to school in Des Moines, Iowa, to protest the war in Vietnam. School officials told them to remove the armbands, and when they refused they were suspended… The Supreme Court sided with the students. Students and teachers don’t ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,’” (Jacobs). This proves how the right to protest is at risk in our society because the students were simply protesting the war in Vietnam peacefully, but the school said they couldn’t when they were allowed to do so. Also, the right to protest is at risk, according to Edwards v. South Carolina, “petitioners, all of whom were black, organized a march to the South Carolina State House grounds… The march was peaceful, did not block pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and was conducted in an orderly fashion on public property; a group of approximately thirty police officers confronted the group and ordered its members to disperse or to submit to arrest… The Court held that the arrests and convictions violated the rights of the marchers” (Oyez). This shows how the right to protest is at risk in our society because as stated above, the protesters held a peaceful protest, which was completely legal, but were arrested for no reason which violated their rights to