First and Second Amendment protections and rights

¶ … 2nd Amendments

According to the United States Constitution, the First Amendment, ratified on December 15, 1791, declares "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 to peacefully assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances," meaning that the American government cannot support nor encourage the belief or practice of any religion; that the freedom of speech and the press cannot be restricted nor taken away, and that American citizens have the right meet in peace and ask the U.S. government to explain any and all inconsistencies in policy. The Second Amendment, ratified on the same date, declares "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," meaning that a militia (organized armed forces or able-bodied male citizens subject to military service) and the American public cannot be restrained from owning firearms.

In today's America, both of these amendments have come under much attack and are linked to numerous social and political controversies. In the case of the 1st Amendment, many current politicians, especially those in the Republican Party and serving in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, highly endorse Christianity as the religion of the United States via the suggestion that the "Founding Fathers" were Christians. Also, certain monuments have been erected in government buildings that advocate Christianity, the most recent example being a court house that contained a monument of the Ten Commandments which after some legal maneuverings was removed. Although the 1st Amendment forbids Congress and its members from endorsing any organized religion as a national religion, there appears to be some conflict of interests in this area, due to certain senators and government officials endorsing Christianity as the religion of the United States.

The freedom of speech has also come under attack, most recently when a reporter was jailed for refusing to expose her sources. The amendment mentions "free exercise" of the right to say what one wishes or print what one wishes; however, if a person was to publicly endorse the assassination of the President, that person would be quickly arrested and most likely thrown in jail, an act that stands in deep conflict with the idea of "free exercise."