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Citizens Rights and Equal Rights
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The First Amendment guarantees several freedoms: freedom of speech, religion, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Freedom of speech means that individuals have the right to express their opinions, even if they are unpopular or offensive. Freedom of religion means that individuals have the right to practice their religion without interference from the government. Freedom of the press means that the press has the right to report on events without censorship. Freedom of assembly means that individuals have the right to gather together for peaceful purposes. The right to petition the government means that individuals have the right to express their grievances to the government (American Government, n.d.).
The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that the government cannot search a person's property or seize their belongings without a warrant or probable cause. The amendment also requires that warrants be issued based on probable cause and that they describe the place to be searched and the things to be seized.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. This means that the government cannot impose bail or fines that are so high as to be unreasonable or excessive, and cannot impose punishments that are cruel or inhumane.
The Tenth Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or to the people. This means that the federal government has only the powers that...…form of political protest, wearing a black armband as a symbol of mourning or protest, and using sign language to communicate a message. Symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment.
However, not all speech is protected. The Supreme Court has established several categories of speech that are not protected, including:
1. Obscenity: Speech that is offensive to the average person and lacks any serious artistic, scientific, or political value.
2. Defamation: False statements that harm a person's reputation.
3. Fighting words: Words that are likely to provoke an immediate violent response from the listener.
4. Incitement to imminent lawless action: Speech that is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.
Speech that falls into any of these categories is not protected by…
References
American Government. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://textbooks.whatcom.edu/amgov/
Nimmer, M. B. (1973). The meaning of symbolic speech under the First Amendment. UCLA L.
Rev., 21, 29.
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