Opinions/Editorials
See other Opinions/Editorials Articles
Title: SOMEONES OPINION: What Does Free Speech Mean?
Source:
www.uscourts.gov
URL Source: https://www.uscourts.gov/about-fede ... h/activity-resources/what-does
Published: Apr 19, 2020
Author: Staff
Post Date: 2020-04-19 08:00:45 by Gatlin
Keywords: None
Views: 1171
Comments: 9
What Does Free Speech Mean? Among other cherished values, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech. The U.S. Supreme Court often has struggled to determine what exactly constitutes protected speech. The following are examples of speech, both direct (words) and symbolic (actions), that the Court has decided are either entitled to First Amendment protections, or not.
Freedom of speech includes the right:
Freedom of speech does not include the right:
- Not to speak (specifically, the right not to salute the flag). West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).
- Of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war (“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”). Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).
- To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages. Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971).
- To contribute money (under certain circumstances) to political campaigns. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
- To advertise commercial products and professional services (with some restrictions). Virginia Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Consumer Council, 425 U.S. 748 (1976); Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977).
- To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest). Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989); United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).
- To incite actions that would harm others (e.g., “[S]hout[ing] ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.”). Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919).
- To make or distribute obscene materials. Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957).
- To burn draft cards as an anti-war protest. United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968).
- To permit students to print articles in a school newspaper over the objections of the school administration. Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988).
- Of students to make an obscene speech at a school-sponsored event. Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986).
- Of students to advocate illegal drug use at a school-sponsored event. Morse v. Frederick, __ U.S. __ (2007).
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
One thing to keep in mind when looking at free speech -- up until 1925, free speech was protected only from federal interference. State and local governments were free to prohibit speech (and many did) assuming their state constitutions allowed them to do so. This is called a "federal republic". Which we were.
But that's too messy for the liberals who desire a one-size- fits-all government. So, rather than trying to lobby 50 states to pass restrictive laws, they only have to lobby the federal government.
#2. To: misterwhite (#1) (Edited)
One thing to keep in mind when looking at free speech -- up until 1925, free speech was protected only from federal interference. State and local governments were free to prohibit speech (and many did) assuming their state constitutions allowed them to do so. This is called a "federal republic". Which we were.
Which states didn't or don't have freedom of speech and assembly in their constitutions?
Also the 14th amendment although illegitimately passed. Is recognized as legitimate. So how did they get around that in 1924? It would have been a violation.
#3. To: A K A Stone (#2)
Which states didn't or don't have freedom of speech and assembly in their constitutions?
New York, for one. That's where Mr. Gitlow filed his suit in 1925.
Gitlow was convicted under New York’s Criminal Anarchy Law, which punished advocating the overthrow of the government by force. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 14th amendment applied to the states and that Gitlow's actions were insignificant.
What's funny is that his actions would probably be punishable today, even with first amendment protection.
#4. To: A K A Stone (#2)
#5. To: A K A Stone (#2)
Also the 14th amendment although illegitimately passed. Is recognized as legitimate. So how did they get around that in 1924? It would have been a violation.
The 14th amendment was adopted in 1868. At the time, no one paid any attention to the due process portion. Even years after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court in United States v. Cruikshank (1876) still held that the First and Second Amendment did not apply to state governments.
Over the years (and starting with Gitlow in 1925), the U.S. Supreme Court used the due process clause to "selectively incorporate" the Bill of Rights and apply their protections to the states.
#6. To: misterwhite (#3)
Which states didn't or don't have freedom of speech and assembly in their constitutions? New York, for one. That's where Mr. Gitlow filed his suit in 1925.
Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press.
Constitution of The State of New York
No law shall be passed abridging the rights of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government, or any department thereof; nor shall any divorce be granted otherwise than by due judicial proceedings; except as hereinafter provided, no lottery or the sale of lottery tickets, pool-selling, bookmaking, or ...
Constitution of The State of New York
#7. To: Gatlin (#0)
And what about freedom of the press?
I'm sure some of you remember this quote:
John Swinton
John Swinton (* 12. December 1829 in Scotland; † 15. Dezember 1901 in Brooklyn Heights, New York) was a Scottish-American journalist, newspaper publisher, and orator.
There is no such a thing in America as an independent press, unless it is out in country towns. You are all slaves. You know it, and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to express an honest opinion. If you expressed it, you would know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid $150 for keeping honest opinions out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for doing similar things. If I should allow honest opinions to be printed in one issue of my paper, I would be like Othello before twenty-four hours: my occupation would be gone. The man who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the street hunting for another job. The business of a New York journalist is to distort the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to villify, to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread, or for what is about the same — his salary. You know this, and I know it; and what foolery to be toasting an "Independent Press"! We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are jumping-jacks. They pull the string and we dance. Our time, our talents, our lives, our possibilities, are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.
Source: en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Swinton
#8. To: Gatlin (#0)
To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest). Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989); United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).
Not this shit again!
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that invalidated prohibitions on desecrating the American flag, which at the time were enforced in 48 of the 50 states. Justice William Brennan wrote for a five-justice majority in holding that defendant Gregory Lee Johnson's act of flag burning was protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Johnson was represented by attorneys David D. Cole and William Kunstler.
Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.
#9. To: goldilucky (#7)
There is no such a thing in America as an independent press, unless it is out in country towns. You are all slaves. You know it, and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to express an honest opinion. If you expressed it, you would know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid $150 for keeping honest opinions out of the paper I am connected with.
Great quote!
Yet some folks here still drink the MSM kool aid.
Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]