The Amendments
Ava Goldstone
Amendment 1: Freedoms of Expression
The Constitution states in the First Amendment that,
Freedom of Speech
The Founding Fathers wanted to ensure individual freedoms. (They were responding to what life was like while living under an English monarchy.)
My opinion about freedom of speech is that people should have the right to say what they want when they want. There are always going to be restrictions, but I believe that people should have freedom of speech.
An example of freedom of speech is having the right to put a bumper sticker on your car that supports a presidential candidate.
This is a picture of a man talking, with freedom of speech, to a crowd of people listening.
This is a picture of the American flag on America that says that it is a free speech zone.
Political Cartoon
The girl wants to protect free speech. At the same time, the boy is using his freedom of speech in order to argue that he wants to ban free speech.
Freedom of Religion
When the colonists lived in England, they did not have religious freedom. When they came to America, the ability to chose their own religion was important enough to make it part of the First Amendment.
A current example of freedom of religion occurred after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. After the Twin Towers fell down, there was a conflict about whether the Muslim people should be allowed to build a mosque near where the Twin Towers once stood.
My opinion about freedom of religion is that people should have the right to practice the religion of their choice. Government should not dictate whether people should believe in one religion, another religion, or no religion at all.
Freedom of Press
In my opinion, freedom of the press means that people can express themselves in newspapers, online, in the movies, and in magazines without the government interfering with the content.
As in freedom of speech, there are limits to freedom of the press in terms of libel. A recent example that highlights the issue of freedom of the press is the movie Zero Dark Thirty. Some argued that the movie went too far when it showed the methods that the CIA used to torture prisoners.
Political Cartoon
Freedom to Assemble
My opinion on freedom to assemble is that citizens should have the right to come together to discuss their thoughts and beliefs or to protest.
A current example of the freedom to assemble is Occupy Wall Street. People from all over America came together for a common belief. Occupy Wall Street is a type of resistance movement that has no particular leader. The people of this movement are from all different ethnic backgrounds, genders, and political beliefs. This movement represents the 99% of people who do not want to deal with the selfishness and dishonesty of the 1%. There is a picture and a political cartoon shown below.
This is a group of people that have gathered together in front of the Capitol to protest.
This is a group of people that gave gathered together, for a common belief, to express their opinion, to Occupy Wall Street.
Political Cartoon
This cartoon addresses the right to assemble. These people gathered together in order to protest different ideas and are unified by the "occupy" theme.
Right to Petition
Right to petition means that people can ask for changes in the government. There are many different ways to petition, such as collecting signatures and sending them out to the elected representative; write, call, or email the representative; or support groups that lobby the government. Throughout history, the actual concept of petitioning the government is said to reach at least as far back as the Magna Carta. After the right to petition was put in the Constitution, the government had to listen to the people. This dates back to John Locke.
My opinion on the right to petition is that citizens should have the right to share their opinion about government. In a way, you need to have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly to petition because you need to express your belief and a lot of people gather together to do so.
A current example of the right to petition is the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD. This is a national nonprofit organization that defends equal treatment for the gay and lesbian community. They have initiated many petitions against current government practices. Some examples are written petitions, conferences, and even parades. Visit the link below to learn more.
Amendment 2: Right to Bear Arms
The Constitution states in the Second Amendment that,
"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."
Although the Second Amendment is only one sentence long, it carries a tremendous message. This amendment allows every citizen in the United States the right to bear arms in order to defend oneself or property. Recent events, including the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, have prompted the nation to rethink the meaning and modern application of the Second Amendment. Historically, the Second Amendment stems from the framers idea that freedom can be protected and upheld with the existence of an armed militia (citizen army).
In my opinion, people should be allowed to own guns. There should be a limit, however, on assault weapons and ammunition that are intended to kill a mass of people in a short amount of time. Universal background checks should be required for anyone who wants to own a gun. That way, those with criminal records or a history of mental illness can be prohibited from the privilege of gun ownership.
Political Cartoon
The Second Amendment: how the Founding Fathers originally intended it and how the NRA sees it now.
This picture shows that the Second Amendment was established in 1791.
Political Cartoon
Supreme Court Justice Scalia supports the right to bear arms and does not want the other justices to shred the Constitution by changing it. According to the cartoon, Justice Scalia thinks that the Constitution should remain unchanged. The other justices pictured would like to change it.