FD Article #6
by Bill Carns
The Constitution of the United States doesn’t “give” or “allow” any rights at all, rather the Constitution protects rights which are endowed to us by our Creator and those rights cannot be legislated by the government. These understandings are spelled out in such documents as the Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America (Declaration of Independence), The US Constitution and the Federalist papers.
by Bill Carns
The Constitution of the United States doesn’t “give” or “allow” any rights at all, rather the Constitution protects rights which are endowed to us by our Creator and those rights cannot be legislated by the government. These understandings are spelled out in such documents as the Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America (Declaration of Independence), The US Constitution and the Federalist papers.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees our God given right to free speech, however the understanding of that freedom is often times misunderstood so let’s visit free speech so we may understand and exercise it properly.
Prior to the War of Independence American colonialists were under the rule of the King of England. It was a crime to speak against the King or to criticize the British Government due to the English common law of Seditious Liable of 1606.
Some colonies had their own laws against free speech. In 1612 the governor of Virginia created the Laws Devine, Moral and Martial which outlawed “disgraceful words” and blasphemy among other things. The penalty for violating this was death.
The inability to speak freely under British rule was a noted source of frustration for the colonists and was addressed by the Founders during the writing of the US Constitution at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Freedom of speech was so important to the Founders that they addressed it in the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights.
Something many people don’t quite understand is the freedom of speech is a right endowed by our creator and guaranteed between us and the government, from local level to federal level. This was outlined in Gitlow v. New York (1925).
In this day and age it seems people are regularly “offended” by far too many things that are said or otherwise displayed under the banner of free speech. Frequently the offended parties have reason to be offended but, alas, all too often their position is simply misplaced.
The freedom to speak freely is not a universal license to say anything, anywhere at any time. There are restrictions such as speech which would incite imminent lawless action, potential violence against a particular person, slander, liable or obscene speech as defined by the Miller Test for obscenity (Miller v. California, 1973).
The city of San Francisco bills itself as “the most tolerant city in America”. However city officials have been sued by some groups which seek permits to march for a cause which are unpopular with those city officials. Denying some groups to exercise their rights while allowing others by a matter of taste or public opinion is soundly unconstitutional (Cuffley v. Mikes, 1999).
You can voice your opinion to your government about what a lousy, misguided job you think they’re doing. If you want to stand in the center of a public forum and loudly disapprove of a political position your speech is protected. However if you want to get nose to nose with someone of that political opinion and unload your tirade on them they don’t have to tolerate it.
You may recall an incident in 2009 where a high school girl posted her negative opinion of a female classmate on her social media page. The next day the defamed girl beat up the one who posted all of those negative comments. The father of the poster wanted to sue because he felt his daughter’s right to free speech was violated when she got beaten up. What the father didn’t understand was that you own your words and, in a personal setting, there may be consequences.
The freedom of speech does not provide for the free exercise thereof without occasionally being offensive. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote in 1791;
Prior to the War of Independence American colonialists were under the rule of the King of England. It was a crime to speak against the King or to criticize the British Government due to the English common law of Seditious Liable of 1606.
Some colonies had their own laws against free speech. In 1612 the governor of Virginia created the Laws Devine, Moral and Martial which outlawed “disgraceful words” and blasphemy among other things. The penalty for violating this was death.
The inability to speak freely under British rule was a noted source of frustration for the colonists and was addressed by the Founders during the writing of the US Constitution at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Freedom of speech was so important to the Founders that they addressed it in the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights.
Something many people don’t quite understand is the freedom of speech is a right endowed by our creator and guaranteed between us and the government, from local level to federal level. This was outlined in Gitlow v. New York (1925).
In this day and age it seems people are regularly “offended” by far too many things that are said or otherwise displayed under the banner of free speech. Frequently the offended parties have reason to be offended but, alas, all too often their position is simply misplaced.
The freedom to speak freely is not a universal license to say anything, anywhere at any time. There are restrictions such as speech which would incite imminent lawless action, potential violence against a particular person, slander, liable or obscene speech as defined by the Miller Test for obscenity (Miller v. California, 1973).
The city of San Francisco bills itself as “the most tolerant city in America”. However city officials have been sued by some groups which seek permits to march for a cause which are unpopular with those city officials. Denying some groups to exercise their rights while allowing others by a matter of taste or public opinion is soundly unconstitutional (Cuffley v. Mikes, 1999).
You can voice your opinion to your government about what a lousy, misguided job you think they’re doing. If you want to stand in the center of a public forum and loudly disapprove of a political position your speech is protected. However if you want to get nose to nose with someone of that political opinion and unload your tirade on them they don’t have to tolerate it.
You may recall an incident in 2009 where a high school girl posted her negative opinion of a female classmate on her social media page. The next day the defamed girl beat up the one who posted all of those negative comments. The father of the poster wanted to sue because he felt his daughter’s right to free speech was violated when she got beaten up. What the father didn’t understand was that you own your words and, in a personal setting, there may be consequences.
The freedom of speech does not provide for the free exercise thereof without occasionally being offensive. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote in 1791;
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too
small a degree of it.”
So to clarify: nobody has the right to live their life and not be offended by someone else’s properly placed free expressions.
If someone wants to fly a Confederate flag then that is their right even though some may find it offensive. It remains that individual’s right to fly whichever flag they chose and no one has an alternate right to stop them (Stromberg v. California, 1937). This is the same case for things such as bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc.
The freedom of speech comes with responsibility. Remember that we all own the words we speak. If we all become more responsible when exercising our freedom of speech then we can all feel free to speak our minds and get some things accomplished in our lives, in our community and in our country. If we start down the slippery slope of regulating which speech is deemed offensive and which is not then we’ll be no better off than the Founders were during their time under colonial rule where death was a punishment for certain forms of speech, even if the death penalty might seem offensive.
If someone wants to fly a Confederate flag then that is their right even though some may find it offensive. It remains that individual’s right to fly whichever flag they chose and no one has an alternate right to stop them (Stromberg v. California, 1937). This is the same case for things such as bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc.
The freedom of speech comes with responsibility. Remember that we all own the words we speak. If we all become more responsible when exercising our freedom of speech then we can all feel free to speak our minds and get some things accomplished in our lives, in our community and in our country. If we start down the slippery slope of regulating which speech is deemed offensive and which is not then we’ll be no better off than the Founders were during their time under colonial rule where death was a punishment for certain forms of speech, even if the death penalty might seem offensive.
“Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty,
without freedom of speech...”
- Benjamin Franklin