Best First Amendment Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 4

“Religious people are now finding that the First Amendment is being used to herd them into a social ghetto, separated and walled off from public participation.”

People Firsts Christian Used Social Religious Findings Amendments Participation First Amendment Herds Ghetto

Author:Pat Swindall

“Under the Obama regime, the president and his allies are intentional in pursuing these conflicts from the perspective that you must sacrifice your most sacred beliefs to government the instant you start a business. You have the protection of the First Amendment as an individual, you see – but the instant you start a business, you lose those protections.”

“The first amendment ensures not that speech will be fair, but that it will be free. It cannot be both.”

Firsts Speech Fairs Amendments First Amendment

Author:David Mamet

“No one understands that the First Amendment is only important if you are going to offend somebody. If you're not going to offend somebody, you don't need protection of the First Amendment.”

Ifs Needs Firsts Important Reality History Constitution Protection Amendments Free Speech First Amendment Disobedience Civil Disobedience

Author:Larry Flynt

“For an American to be patriotic is to be loyal to the principles of our Constitution, and the First Amendment. The truth is that the policies of the government is sometimes in conflict with that. In our country, patriotism should not be defined as obedience to an authority.”

Should Firsts Country Sometimes Government Principles Policy Truth Is Conflict Authority Constitution Our Country Defined Obedience Patriotic Loyal Amendments First Amendment

Author:Daniel Ellsberg

“The Supreme Court is expected to rule this week whether banning cross burning by groups like the Klu Klux Klan violates the first amendment. The outcome could affect the entertainment at Trent Lott's Christmas party.”

Firsts Party Groups Week Crosses Court Entertainment Expected Supreme Burning Outcomes Amendments Supreme Court First Amendment Christmas Party

Author:Tina Fey

“The First Amendment is about how we govern ourselves - not about how we titillate ourselves sexually.”

Firsts Government Amendments First Amendment Sexually

Author:Robert Bork

“There are many prices we pay for freedoms secured by the First Amendment; the risk of undue influence is one of them, confirming what we have long known: Freedom is hazardous, but some restraints are worse.”

Firsts Long Pay Known Risk Influence Speech Propaganda Amendments Restraint First Amendment Secured

Author:Warren E. Burger

“All ideas having even the slightest redeeming social importance - unorthodox ideas, controversial ideas, even ideas hateful to the prevailing climate of opinion, have the full protection of the guarantees [of the First Amendment].”

“At the heart of the First Amendment is the recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas and opinions on matters of public interest and concern. The freedom to speak one's mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty - and thus a good unto itself - but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole. We have therefore been particularly vigilant to ensure that individual expressions of ideas remain free from governmentally imposed sanctions.”

“The First Amendment is important not only to guarantee the rights of alternative religions and of nonreligious persons in society; it is also important in setting the only possible legal and social condition for the creative health of serious religion itself.”

Firsts Persons Important Religion Social Creative Rights Conditions Serious Speech Constitution Setting Settings Alternatives Guarantees Amendments First Amendment Social Conditions

Book:Creationism on Trial: Evolution and God at Little Rock

Source: Creationism on Trial: Evolution and God at Little Rock

“The First Amendment is not a blanket freedom-of-information act. The constitutional newsgathering freedom means the media can go where the public can, but enjoys no superior right of access.”

Firsts Mean Enjoy Freedom Media Information Access Superiors Amendments First Amendment Blanket

Book:The Leveling Wind: Politics, the Culture, and Other News, 1990-1994

Source: The Leveling Wind: Politics, the Culture, and Other News, 1990-1994

“You're telling me that the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?”

Firsts Important States Found Church Separation Amendments First Amendment Church And State Separation Of Church And State

Author:Christine O'Donnell

“The First Amendment was designed to protect offensive speech, because nobody ever tries to ban the other kind.”

Trying Firsts Kind Internet Protect Speech Amendments Free Speech Freedom Of Speech Offensive First Amendment Bans

Author:Mike Godwin

“[Asserting] important First Amendment rights ... why should [executions] be the one area that is conducted behind closed doors?... Why shouldn't executions be public?”

Should Firsts Important Behinds Rights Doors Areas Amendments Execution First Amendment Closed Doors Behind Closed Doors First Amendment Rights

Author:Phil Donahue

“The Constitution, in addition to delegating certain enumerated powers to Congress, places whole areas outside the reach of Congress' regulatory authority. The First Amendment, for example, is fittingly celebrated for preventing Congress from "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion or "abridging the freedom of speech." The Second Amendment similarly appears to contain an express limitation on the government's authority.”

Firsts Whole Government Certain Example Exercise Speech Authority Areas Constitution Congress Limitation Amendments Freedom Of Speech First Amendment Second Amendment Preventing

Author:Clarence Thomas

“A school prayer amendment would confer upon public school boards a power the First Amendment now denies to Congress and the states, that is, the power to establish religion.”

Firsts States School Prayer Atheism Congress Deny Positive Atheism Boards Amendments Public School First Amendment School Board

Author:Sam Ervin

“What James Madison and the other men of his generation had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment was that there should be no official relationship of any character between government and any church or many churches, and no levying of taxes for the support of any church, or many churches, or all churches, or any institution conducted by any of them.”

Men Should Mind Firsts Character Government Church Support Generations Atheism Taxes Institutions Positive Atheism Officials Amendments First Amendment Madison

Author:Sam Ervin

“For the church to say that abortion is not acceptable for a Catholic is fine. To say directly or indirectly that on something that is a church teaching that you must also vote according to that - that's not acceptable in a country based on the First Amendment.”

Firsts Country Church Teaching Fine Vote Catholic Abortion Acceptable Amendments First Amendment

Author:Patrick Leahy

“We are a people of faith. We have been so secure in that faith that we have enshrined in our Constitution protection for people who profess no faith. And good for us for doing so. That is what the First Amendment is all about.”

People Firsts Has Beens Constitution Protection Secure Amendments First Amendment

Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993, Bk. 2, August 1 to December 31, 1993

Source: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993, Bk. 2, August 1 to December 31, 1993

“The First Amendment was specifically designed for citizens to insult politicians. Libel laws were written to protect law students speaking out on political issues from getting called whores by Oxycontin addicts.”

Firsts Law Political Issues Written Students Citizens Politician Protect Insult Amendments Addict First Amendment Speaking Out Libel Political Issues Law Students Oxycontin

Author:Bill Maher

“Religion should be subject to commonsense appraisal and rational review, as openly discussible as, say, politics, art and the weather. The First Amendment, we should recall, forbids Congress both from establishing laws designating a state religion and from abridging freedom of speech. There is no reason why we should shy away from speaking freely about religion, no reason why it should be thought impolite to debate it, especially when, as so often happens, religious folk bring it up on their own and try to impose it on others.”

“I call myself a radical conservative. What's that? Well, let's analyze it. Go to the dictionary. Radical: One who gets to the roots of things. And I'm a conservative because I want to conserve the green of the grass, the potability of drinking water, the first amendment of the Constitution and whatever sanity we have left.”

Want Firsts Wells Left Water Roots Constitution Green Drinking Conservative Radical Grass Sanity Amendments Dictionary First Amendment Drinking Water

Author:Studs Terkel

“If we set the precedent of limiting the First Amendment, in order to protect the sensibilities of those who are offended by flag burning, what will we say the next time someone is offended by some other minority view, or by some other person's exercise of the freedom the Constitution is supposed to protect?”

Ifs Firsts Persons Order Next Views Exercise Protect Constitution Burning Minorities Flags Amendments Sensibility Next Time Offended First Amendment Precedent Flag Burning

Author:Edward Kennedy

“The First Amendment of the Constitution was not written to protect the people from religion; that amendment was written to protect religion from government tyranny. . . But now we're told our children have no right to pray in school. Nonsense. The pendulum has swung too far toward intolerance against genuine religious freedom. It is time to redress the balance.”

“It is true that many Americans find the Commandments in accord with their personal beliefs. But we do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment.”

Firsts Belief Ten Amendments Commandments First Amendment Accord Ten Commandments Personal Beliefs

Author:Sandra Day O'Connor

“The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of Church and State. Rathe, it studiously defines the manner, the specific ways, in which there shall be no concert or union or dependency one on the other. That is the common sense of the matter. Otherwise the state and religion would be aliens to each other.”

Way Firsts Doe Matter States Would Be Church Common Unions Separation Common Sense Aliens Concerts Amendments First Amendment Church And State Separation Of Church And State Dependency

Author:William O. Douglas

“The first phrase of the First Amendment spoke to the freedom uppermost in Jefferson's mind when it provided that, 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' Here a double guarantee could be found: first, that government would do nothing to give official endorsement to a religion or to set one faith above another; second, that government would do nothing to inhibit the freedom of religion.”

Giving Mind Firsts Government Law Found Exercise Congress Phrases Officials Guarantees Spokes Establishment Amendments First Amendment Freedom Of Religion Endorsements

Author:Edwin Gaustad

“The men who wrote the First Amendment religion clause did not view paid legislative chaplains and opening prayers as a violation of that amendment... the practice of opening sessions with prayer has continued without interruption ever since that early session of Congress. It can hardly be thought that in the same week the members of the first Congress voted to appoint and pay a chaplain for each House and also voted to approve the draft of the First Amendment... (that) they intended to forbid what they had just declared acceptable.”

Men Firsts House Prayer Views Pay Practice Week He Man Members Paid Congress Opening Acceptable Amendments Session Violation First Amendment Interruptions Clauses Chaplains

Author:Warren E. Burger

“Every public elementary school ought to welcome Good News Clubs. Parents appreciate them; children love them; and the First Amendment protects them. The First Amendment requires that similar groups be provided with equal treatment. Religious speech is not a disability. It is our preeminent freedom.”

“The First Amendment...does not say that in every respect there shall be a separation of Church and State....Otherwise the state and religion would be aliens to each other - hostile, suspicious, and even unfriendly....The state may not establish a 'religion of secularism' in the sense of affirmatively opposing or showing hostility to religion, thus preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe.”

“The word 'free' is used three times in the Declaration of Independence and once in the First Amendment to the Constitution, along with 'freedom.' The word 'fair' is not used in either of our founding documents.”

Firsts Used Three Fairs Constitution Independence Amendments Documents Declaration Founding Three Times First Amendment Declaration Of Independence

Author:Milton Friedman

“It is a very odd sort of Patriot that would destroy the First Amendment to protect the Second.”

Firsts Protect Odd Amendments Patriot First Amendment

Author:Jerry Holkins

“There's no way you are going to get rid of the Second Amendment, there's no way you're going to get rid of the First Amendment, and people have to understand how important this is. But I think when they see more and more killings, we have to figure out, of course what we are going to do about it. And I don't think the criminal justice system has an answer.”

People Thinking Way Firsts Important Courses Justice Answers Figures Killing Criminals Amendments First Amendment Second Amendment Justice System Criminal Justice Criminal Justice System

Author:Chuck Todd

“I think it is appropriate that we pay tribute to this great constitutional principle which is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution: the principle of religious independence, of religious liberty, of religious freedom.”

Thinking Firsts Religious Pay Liberty Principles Constitution Independence Appropriate Amendments First Amendment Tribute Religious Freedom Religious Liberty

Author:John F. Kennedy

“Is Donald Trump a serious candidate? The reason I ask this is, if you're going to close the Internet, realize, America, what that entails. That entails getting rid of the First amendment, ok? It's no small feat.”

Ifs Firsts Reason America Asks Realizing Serious Trump Internet Candidates Amendments First Amendment Feats

Author:Rand Paul

“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

Author:Thomas Jefferson

“The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.”

Book:A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)

Source: A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)

“It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God.”

Author:Thomas Jefferson

“The relevant part of the First Amendment here prohibits the making of any law, quote, "abridging the freedom of speech." And it's pretty well-established that speech comes in many forms.”

Firsts Wells Form Law Speech Relevant Amendments Freedom Of Speech First Amendment

Author:Laura Sydell

“The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, and software has been treated as a form of speech ever since. So if software code is speech, Apple says the First Amendment also means the government can't tell Apple what to say.”

Ifs Firsts Mean Has Beens Government Form Speech Court Treated Appeals Code Apples Software Amendments First Amendment Circuits

Author:Laura Sydell

“Donald Trump creates scapegoats in Muslims and Mexican immigrants. He calls for the use of torture. He calls for killing the innocent children and family members of terrorists. He cheers assaults on protesters. He applauds the prospect of twisting the Constitution to limit First Amendment freedom of the press. This is the very brand of anger that has led other nations into the abyss.”

“When I think of civil liberties I think of the founding principles of the country. The freedoms that are in the First Amendment. But also the fundamental right to privacy.”

Thinking Firsts Country Liberty Principles Fundamentals Privacy Amendments Founding First Amendment Civil Liberties Right To Privacy

Author:Tim Cook

“I'm a constitutionalist. You know, does faith matter to me? Sure. But the beauty of the Constitution, the beauty of the First Amendment, it protects everyone's faith.”

Knows Firsts Doe Matter Protect Constitution Amendments First Amendment

Author:Ted Cruz

“Reading their letters and the First Amendment of the US Constitution, I infer that this nation's founders noted that religions have been at the center of great deal of trouble, so they precluded the US government from getting involved in religion, i.e. "... shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Over the centuries, various religions have laid claim to various morals; consider the difficulties outsiders are having today in the Middle East, for example.”

“The First Amendment of the US Constitution ... is an eloquent repudiation of the First Commandment's prohibition of religious freedom. It is also a repudiation of the Third Commandment's prohibition of freedom of speech. The Thirteenth Amendment repudiates the institution of slavery which is so cozily assumed by the Fourth and Tenth Protestant Commandments.”

“This [anti-terrorism bill] is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech and the Fourth Amendment protection of private property... Some of these provisions place more power in the hands of law enforcement than our Founding Fathers could have dreamt and severely compromises the civil liberties of law-abiding Americans. This bill, while crafted with good intentions, is rife with constitutional infringements I could not support.”

“I do not believe that it can be too often repeated that the freedoms of speech, press, petition and assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment must be accorded to the ideas we hate or sooner or later they will be denied to the ideas we cherish. The first banning of an association because it advocates hated ideas - whether that association be called a political party or not - marks a fateful moment in the history of a free country.”

“Wikileaks has - we specialize in bringing the First Amendment to the world, and we were always very surprised one of our biggest battles would be trying to bring it to the United States under an Obama administration.”

World Trying Firsts States Would Be United United States Battle Administration Amendments First Amendment Wikileaks

Author:Julian Assange

“If you see the rhetoric from coming out of the Democrats is that they're pro-civil liberties, and an important part of civil liberties is respect for the First Amendment and the rule of law, and that has broken down under the Obama administration, and Hillary Clinton was part of that process.”

Ifs Firsts Important Law Process Liberty Broken Clinton Democrat Administration Coming Out Amendments Rhetoric First Amendment Rule Of Law Civil Liberties Broken Down

Author:Julian Assange

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