First Amendment to the United States Constitution
From Wikinfo
Amendment I (the First Amendment) of the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights. It states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Thus, it prevents the United States Congress from passing any law which:
- has an effect on the establishment of religion or its practice
- abridges free speech
- abridges freedom of the press
- abridges peaceable assembly
- abridges the right of the people to petition the government for redress of grievances
These human rights are widely known as:
- Freedom of religion
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of the press
- Freedom of peaceable assembly
- The right to petition
The consequences of this Amendment to American society have been profound. First Amendment questions have been raised with regard to the separation of church and state; civil rights issues; pornography and obscenity; political speech and organizations; journalism and its restrictions; involuntary commitment laws; and many more.
See also
- Freedom of assembly
- Antidisestablishmentarianism
- Civil religion
- Lemon test
- United States Constitution on Wikisource
External links
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
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