Essay On The First Amendment

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September 17, 1787 deemed the day that American citizens would have their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, there has been changes to the constitution (amendments) that have occurred since 1787, the most controversial being the first amendment. The first amendment is the protection of U.S. individual’s freedom of religion, assembly, press, speech, and petitioning. The question of to what extent citizens are allowed their first amendment rights is gradually becoming a large problem. What are the limitations of the first amendment? Should these limits be increased? These questions have led to further debatable arguments dealing with the first amendment: the burning of the American flag. So, should Congress have the …show more content…
Des Moines: students wore black armbands with a peace sign on it to school in order to support the peace they believed in during the Vietnam war. The students ended up being suspended until they would take off the black bands. This case was brought to the Supreme Court because the students believed that their first amendment rights were being violated. Not being able to express one’s self clearly violates the first amendment; freedom of speech is a large right/part of being an American citizen, this right should not be violated or able to be taken away. The court case Tinker v. Des Moines has similarity to the amendment that has been proposed to protect the burning of the American flag due to the fact that freedom of speech is being taken away. Veterans have even spoken up about their dislike of the proposed amendment. “People are born free. It says that in the Declaration of Independence. They have a right to express their opinions, even if I don’t like the opinions they express or the means by which they express it. They have a right to say it, even if those opinions are incoherent” (Warner). Individuals that live in the U.S. are given their set of “rules” (the constitution), as long as someone is being peaceful, they are allowed to do as they please, this is why American’s are seen as “free.” The amendment should not be passed because it takes away citizen's legal rights in “expressing”
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