The Amendments
Amendment Numbers 1 & 2
Amendment 1- Freedom of religion, speech, assembly, press, and petition
Freedom of Speech
This section of the first amendment is very self-explanatory, but I still think that it could be more detailed. There have been many cases where people have been charged for speech that is not included in the amendment. A threat is a perfect example. If you threaten someone, you would be heavily fined, or even arrested, even though you would have "freedom of speech." In history, the States all had different opinions on the freedom of speech. Generally, there were a few limitations and controls over speech, but little did they use and follow through with them. A case regarding freedom of speech was the Feiner vs. New York case. Feiner called the mayor and president "bums," so he got arrested. Today, the freedom of speech basically has the same limitations as always, except the punishments are a little more severe. My opinion of this is that you should always talk to someone like you are talking to the president, and there will be no problems. In other words, if you think that what you are saying could get you into any trouble, don't say it. I also think that they should amend the constitution to clearly state what is allowed and not allowed to be said.
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion to me is being able to practice and study any religion you believe in without any say of anyone else. In history, freedom of religion was separated into two categories: freedom of religion and freedom of worship. These were two completely separate beliefs. Freedom of religion was studying and practicing the religion you are born to, and freedom of worship was almost a choice. You did not have to worship any god you're expected to according to your religion. A court case regarding this freedom was when a Jewish man was penalized by the Air Force for wearing a yarmulke.Today, there are no restrictions to religions, and I don't think there should be. I think that everyone should have a right to believe in whatever religion they want to believe in, as long as they don't do any harm to anyone else.
Freedom of Press
Freedom of press is the freedom to communicate and express about people (most likely famous) through ways like media such as pictures and videos. Historically, freedom of press was very free. You could basically follow anyone around, even though they still had ways of protection like bodyguards, and take pictures and videos and write whatever you wanted to about it. A case regarding freedom of the press was when Harry Crosswell was charged of libel for printing a story that said many bad things about Thomas Jefferson in the newspaper.Today, there are many more famous people than there used to be, which means many more fans.Thus, there are more restrictions for freedom of the press. I think that the freedom of press is perfect because a famous celebrity should be able to have some privacy.
Freedom of Assembly
Freedom of assembly is basically the right to assemble. In history, assembly was very common. For example, in England, when the people didn't agree with the king, they would assemble to either send something like a petition to the king, or just discuss what they thought the king was doing wrong. Today, assembly isn't something that we would do nationally, like they used to, but a community might have an assembly to discuss ways they might think they can improve it. A case regarding freedom to assemble was a case in Alabama where a group of people assembled to make picket signs and protest against a food company. I think that the freedom of assembly could be a little more restricted because as it is, there are little to no restrictions for assembly.
Right to Petition
The right to petition is the freedom to write a petition, or letter, to someone that is usually to someone very high on the social ladder about how the people think he or she is doing their job. Historically, this occurrence happened very often because the people usually wrote a petition whenever they thought that their king or queen was doing something wrong. A court case involving the right to petition was when men from armed forces held a meeting and wrote a petition to the government, and these men were lightly punished. Today, people in our country little to never write petitions. The main reason being that we aren't ruled by a king. I think that the law for petitions is just the way it should be because everybody in the United States rarely writes petitions to our president.
The 1st Amendment Song
AMENDMENT 2- RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS
Bearing Arms
This amendment explains how any American citizen has the right to bear arms for protection of an enemy. It also says that any American citizen has the right to own a gun. In history, this right was almost unlimited because besides for wars, there were very few cases where people had to use guns. A court case involving this amendment was when a man named Herman Presser was charged for parading a group of people without any authorization of any kind from his state's (Illinois) government. Today, gun control and bearing arms is a much bigger deal than it ever has been because there are people who buy guns and use them for reasons other than protection. Recently, there have been a couple of cases when people break into schools and shoot students and faculty. I think that gun control should be even more restricted than it already is because of what has been happening so recently to such innocent people. I think that guns should be illegal for everyone except for important people like policemen.
The 2nd Amendment Song