Say what you want - The First Amendment Lets You

 By Ann

Freedom of Speech is protected by the 1st amendment of our Constitution.  This is because the colonies were subject to a British Crown that would imprison, torture, mutilate, and even kill people who voiced any kind of opinion that wasn’t favorable to the government. 

But like most protections, free speech is not absolute.  There are regulations against speech which incites criminal activity and there are regulations with regards to commercial speech (think commercials and no cigarette ads on tv).  But you, as an American citizen, you are permitted to say anything you like.  Even symbolic expression can be protected. This means that you  as a person can say anything that is acceptable, popular, controversial, unpopular, taboo, weird, or distasteful.  Caveat: Speech mixed with any conduct which could be perceived as criminal may not be protected.  This is where it gets tricky.   Here are some examples of what is a DO and what is a DON’T :

DO 

• Voice Your Opinion and feel free to use colorful language if you feel so inclined
• Wear a colorful armband to support a charity or to protest a war
• Blog
• Criticize the Government

DON'T

• Incite a riot or accompany your words with disorderly conduct or threatening behavior  
• Throw red paint on a person wearing a fur coat
• Do porn -even lawyers are at a loss with the ambiguous and subjective laws regarding porn
  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millerv.California)
• Make something up that is not truthful for the sole purpose of harming another - this is libel and slander - both of which are an illegal No-No. 

Make sense?  Let’s see if you were paying attention. 

Which of the following is protected speech?

A. Thanking the nice police officer who just gave you a ticket by calling him a turd
B.  Painting your face silver and blue and yelling Go Cowboys at an Eagles game in Philly
C. Blogging conservative rhetoric without any facts in support thereof
D. Telling your boss how you really feel about your job

Answer:  All of the Above.  It may sound counterintuitive but you have the right to be an idiot.  BUT you can’t be punished by the government for expressing yourself.  Sure,you can be fired.  Of course, you can be a social pariah.  But you have the right to say what you want without being punished by the government. 

For a better understanding of what the first amendment and the fights that still haunt our citizenry please visit the experts.  http://www.aclu.org/free-speech

Now this might annoy and offend some people.  Some people might fuss and say that it’s not fair that people can be so rude and get away with it.  Well for them, I say… Deal with it!  The alternative is to have a government that decides what is decent and right.  Just like the British Crown in the colonial times.  Just like some Middle Eastern countries that have their own way of dealing with dissent.  Just like Tiananmen Square- that was a massacre prompted by a government that didn’t think it was appropriate for the protestors to protest. 

No thanks tyrannical governments.  I think I’ll stick with my protections under the first amendment even if that means that I have to listen to people whining about it.

Disclaimer:  Nothing in this post or any other post should ever be construed as legal advice.  There's a disclaimer at the bottom of the blog, but as cautious lawyers we thought we best disclaim once again.