Amendment 1
Writen By: Matt Kaskel per 6
Freedom of Speech
Inside Amendment 1
Part 1 (Freedom of speech)
Freedom of Speech sounds great, but you are not completely free to say what ever you want. Laws on this topic prohibit Libel and Slander. Libel and Slander is speech and writing that can hurt people or cause danger. Some things that people are prohibited from saying could be when someone yells "FIRE" in a movie theater. The American government probably got the idea of freedom of speech because of a quote from a Christian Prince in 1516, "In a free state, tongues too should be free." This means that if the US wants themselves to be a free state, people should be allowed to move their tongues, or talk, whenever they want, how they want. A good example of this issue of limited speech could be the issue in India where a 21 year old medical student posted a complaint about the Leader on Facebook. He was later arrested. I believe that is was perfectly fine for the young man to state his opinion to the public.
Cartoon Section
This cartoon shows an angry man yelling at someone with a blow horn using his freedom of speech. The man is angry because he is tired of people trying to limit his freedom of speech.
Part 2 (Freedom of religion)
The freedom of religion part of the 1st amendment basically says that people in the US can believe in whoever they please to, worship in any kind of manner, or celebrate any kind of religious holiday. The old author who passed away less than 5 years ago, George Carlin once said a very meaningful, historical quote, “Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes.” This quote means that you can practice any religion you please, but no one can force you to practice another religion. Furthermore, an important current event that is occurring all over the place in France is that the French are trying to pass a law to ban Muslim Hijabs from being worn. I actually agree and understand why they might be trying to pass this law. However, I have an idea that would still protect the Muslims' rights in France. That idea is that countries should pass a law that allows airport security to be able to force Muslims to take their Hijabs off of their heads so they can make sure that they are not carrying any weapons or any illegal items. Instead of banning it all together, the law should allow them to wear the Hijabs, but not when going through airport security. That is what I believe.
Muslim Protests in France
Part 3 (Freedom of Press
The third part of the first amendment includes the freedom of press. The freedom of press allows citizens to publish books about people, create YouTube videos of yourself or someone, or publish songs. However, there is just one flaw, the YouTube videos or newspaper articles must me truthful, fair, and not threatening to any one, especially to a person of high rank (President Obama). A historic quote from Thomas Jefferson said, "Absolute freedom of press to discuss public questions is a foundation stone of American Liberty." This quote means that it is important for the US to allow us to be able to post information to the public. It it's part of America. An important current event that is occurring today is that the US House of Representatives passes a law that bans news companies from arresting news reporters for not reveling information they lean. Because of this law, the White House is attempting to veto this law. A agree with this law because it part of their job and duty to receive information and release it to the public, however, I do think that the punishment shouldn't be that harsh; it should just be a small fine.
Part 4 (Freedom to Assemble)
The Freedom to Assemble is in my opinion the most important part of the 1st amendment. This section of the amendment says that citizens can group or assemble together and discuss things in a private manner. However, they may not threaten to kill anyone. Second, employees can go on strike, or people can have a protest rally as long as they are all peaceful. It is defiantly a great idea put it the constitution. People may ponder whose genius idea this was; and that man is John Adams. John Adams was the second President of the United States, having earlier served as the first Vice President of the United States. A serious current event that is just happened recently was that in the capitol, 70,000 protesters were protesting adjacent to the White House over Obama Care. A colossal amount of protesters were prosecuted. Now, here is how I stand on this event. I believe that some of the people should have been prosecuted but only if they were just like I stated before, not acting in a peaceful manner. That is where I stand on this event.
Protest in New York City
Part 5 (Right to Petition)
The right to petition means that the US citizens can talk negative about the government. Or, citizens can request the government to do something. People can also request the government to do something. In history, the first noted use of "petition" was the the US petitioned Congress in the 1800's to pass an amendment to abolish slavery. An issue going on right now is that the government is implying small fines to people who complain/petition over the government. I disagree with what the government is doing because they are not following the first amendment at all! Just like I said before, people can say whatever they want about the government as long as it is truthful and not threatening to anyone.
Petition by the White House
Amendment 2 (The Right To Bear Arms)
This important amendment is dealt with and debated about every hour of the day. But first, what does this amendment actually say that people are debating about? The 2nd amendment says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." This says that people can bear any kind of gun as long as they use them only for their protection. This is what the founding fathers, (Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Thomas Paine, Roger Sherman, John Jay, James Wilson, and Gouvernor Morris) had in mind. A critical current issue occouring on Capitol Hill is that President Obama is trying to pass a law, banning assault weapons, they might go along with other proposals, such as requiring universal background checks on gun purchases. However, President Obama has not received the majority vote in the House of Representatives probably because it is completely going against the 2nd amendment which could be a problem if really wants to pass this law.
Web sources
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/feb/05/religion.news
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22782.George_Carlin
http://hmcurrentevents.com/freedom-of-press-vs-national-security/
http://freedomswings.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/freedom-of-assembly-goes-down-in-flames-in-dc/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_petition_in_the_United_States
http://www.wcl.american.edu/journal/lawrev/31/jacobs.pdf
http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-gun-measures-face-tough-road-congress-080427967--politics.html