| abstract
| - The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that: This language restricts government both more and less than it would if it were applied literally. It restricts government more in that it applies not only to Congress, but to all branches of the federal government, and to all branches of state and local government. It restricts government less in that it provides no protection to some types of speech and only limited protection to others. The First Amendment limits the federal government from making any law or regulation that would ban or indirectly tend to suppress — that is, “chill” — speech or expression. Historically, the First Amendment has been interpreted broadly to protect individuals from government attempts to suppress political, ideological, or scientific ideas or information, and to defend against government incursions on freedom of expression in art, literature, movies, and music. As necessary conditions to democratic governance, the rights embodied in the First Amendment occupy a "preferred position" in the hierarchy of constitutional rights and powers. The provisions of the First Amendment have been interpreted to provide a bulwark against government intervention in the most basic elements of our democracy — the expression of thought, opinion, and belief. As necessary conditions to democratic governance, the rights embodied in the First Amendment occupy a "preferred position" in the hierarchy of constitutional rights. As Justice Rutledge, speaking for the majority of the Supreme Court, said in 1945: The First Amendment applies to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. First Amendment interests are not limited to authors and publishers; readers have a right to receive information and judge its value for themselves. The First Amendment right to receive information is rooted in the fundamental public interest in the free and open exchange of ideas and information. The open dialogue protected by the First Amendment covers "every sort of publication which affords a vehicle of information and opinion," including literature. Notwithstanding the absolute language of the First Amendment and its preferred position, the Supreme Court has never interpreted the freedoms of religion, speech, press, or assembly to be without limits. These rights, which are collectively referred to as freedom of expression, can be limited in a variety of ways. Government can prohibit entirely speech that threatens national security, that is obscenity, that incitements to imminent lawlessness, is a true threat, and fighting words. it can place reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of speech, and can regulate speech that takes place in public; it can force one to compensate victims of defamation and other forms of speech injurious to private interests; and it can regulate speech that takes place over the airwaves. Moreover, when speech or the exercise of religion merges into action, government can regulate those forms of expression to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. Because freedom of expression is not absolute, it often involves a balancing of governmental interests against the rights of individuals where the two are in conflict. Balancing rights against power occurs in the context of contemporary values and institutions: economic, political, ethical, legal, and scientific or technological. The First Amendment generally does not apply to private activity. Thus, a private individual or private entity cannot be said to unconstitutionally "abridge" another private individual's "freedom of speech and press." Only the government, or its agents, can be charged with violating the First Amendment. The exception is when a private party’s actions are attributable to the government, either when: (i) the private party exercises a public function that is traditionally exclusively reserved to the State, or (ii) the government has exercised coercive power or provided such significant encouragement that the challenged action can fairly be attributed to the government.
- The response in the First Chamber was highly positive, though there were made adjustments to the amendment bill, mostly by the author himself. In the Second Chamber, the vote turned out in an absolute majority.
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