The First and Second Amendments

¶ … 2nd Amendments

First Amendment & Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Basically the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights reads: "Congress shall make no law" that restricts the right of American citizens to choose their religion and practice their religion, and Congress cannot pass laws that take away the right of free speech, or the right of the press to print whatever it wishes; and also the right of people to assemble peacefully to protest to the government cannot be restricted (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com).

The Second Amendment is short and to the point: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com).

TWO: (Reporters protecting sources) Recently the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that is supposed to ensure the right or reporters to protect their confidential sources. The vote was 398 to 21, and overwhelming victory for the legislators who wish to protect legitimate journalists from being thrown in jail for not disclosing where they obtained information that was used in the writing of their news reports, according to a story in USA Today (Abrams, 2007). The U.S. Senate has not taken up the issue yet.

Freedom of the press is fundamental to our democracy and it is fundamental to our security," said the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (Abrams, 2007). But the White House said it would veto the bill if it passes the Senate; the freedom that journalists have to report and protect their sources "could severely frustrate - and in some cases completely eviscerate - the ability to investigate acts of terrorism or threats to national security," Jim Abrams of AP writes. The bill was co-sponsored by a Republican (Mike Pence of Indiana) and a Democrat (Rick Boucher of Virginia); Pence said the legislation is not about "protecting reporters; it's about protecting the public's right to know." The issue has come up before Congress because over the past 3 years, more than 40 cases have come to light where reporters were ordered identify their sources or go to jail. One of the more high-profile cases of a reporter going to jail for refusing to reveal sources was Judith Miller, a journalist with the New York Times, who served 85 days in prison in the Valerie Plame Wilson CIA leak case.

TWO: (Separation of church and state) Recently the state of Illinois has allowed a "mandatory moment of silence" at the beginning of the day in its public schools; this has stirred the debate about the separation of church and state. The moment of silence was not necessarily for prayer, according to the sponsor of the legislation, Will Davis, who is quoted in the Boston Globe article as saying that offering an opportunity for kids to "...settle down at the beginning of the day is not a bad thing." Still, a judge has ordered the State Board of Education "not to enforce the new law while a suit filed by the father of a public school student proceeds" (Keen, 2007). Barry Lynn of the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State said the judge realizes "...that there is no motive for a moment of silence except a religious one." The First Amendment comes into play here because it prohibits government from promoting religion.

TWO: (Gun control): Recently the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that prevents the use of lead ammunition in California Condor - a severely endangered species - recovery zones. The law thus requires hunters of game like deer and coyote to use copper bullets, because when lead bullets kill a deer, for example, the hunter normally leaves the guts of the carcass on the ground, condors feed on those guts, and if they ingest lead, they can and do die (www.enn.com).