The First Amendment and How it Applies to Members of the Military
There are certain individual rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to every American citizen, as promised by the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights carefully lays out the rights and freedoms promised to every citizen. The first amendment of the constitution is woven into every facet of American society. It sets the very ground work that would spawn generations of growth and change within our society and culture. However, there are certain organizations and individuals that do not fall solely under the constitution. Due to the unique nature of the United States Military, there are various restrictions placed on the first amendment rights of its members which effects their freedom of speech, the right to assembly, and the right to petition.
The United States Constitution was written in 1787 and ratified a year later in 1788. Before many of the states would ratify the constitution, they required a Bill of Rights to be written in order guarantee certain individual rights and freedoms for citizens and limit the power of the federal and state government (Britanica,2015). The first amendment of the Bill of Rights states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
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While the freedom of speech is protected under the constitution, there are several types of speech that are restricted by the government. In general, if the speech is found to cause harm or threaten the safety of the public, it is restricted. According to Oliver Wendell Holmes, “a restriction is legitimate only if the speech in question poses a “clear and present danger”—i.e., a risk or threat to safety or to other public interests that is serious and imminent.” (Volokh, E., 2015). There are restrictions placed on fighting words, defamation, threats, and false statements of