8 Things The 1st Amendment Does Not Protect
There was a time in my life when I knew nothing about the First Amendment; I didn’t even know that it exists, but now, I’ve done my homework for a very long time. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and even freedom from religion. But in the United States, if you are an Atheist you are less trusted than any other minority groups — in some places in the country, you could even lose your job, and even denied employment. The Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution in 1787, but the states refused to ratify it without a Bill of Rights explicitly saying what the new government could and could not do. Free speech is not just one of the pillars of the United States, it is also one of the pillars of countries such as Canada, Britain, Holland, Japan, France, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, South Africa; Australia; Poland; Hungary; Austria; Norway; Denmark; Finland; Czech Republic; Taiwan; Hong Kong; Argentina; Italy; Iceland; Belgium; Luxembourg; Switzerland; Spain; Portugal; Greece etc. People can say what they want, but they are also responsible for their choices of words and deeds. In life, you always have a choice and your choices have consequences, those consequences don’t care about your free speech rights. Yes, there were and have been many people who fought, bled and died for this pillar, but you cannot ignore that the other fights, such for the right to be treated with respect and dignity — irrespective of your background.
Libertarians believe in absolute free speech without consequences, in their minds, the government does not decide what’s right and what’s wrong — I wonder how well Libertarians well are doing in America and elsewhere when it comes to their abilities to govern their respective countries. Both Conservatives and Liberals believe in this concept differently, in the way that they try to align the First Amendment to their echo chambers. The far-right belief in free speech is an excuse to promote their hatred for none-whites — at the same time, they don’t want free speech for those who don’t look like them, due to their willingness to use the First Amendment as a weapon to topple over those whom they wish to see gone. The Far Left has also proven to have a totalitarian ideology as well; we see these proven records in countries like Cuba, the Congo-Brazzaville, North Korea, and Venezuela — countries that are dictatorships. The United States is a free country, but even in a free country, there are principles; some of you might be surprised about rights that are not protected by the First Amendment — especially to you, Libertarians out there.
1.Obscenity
Obscenity is not protected under the First Amendment because these particular types of speeches incite or encourage others to break the law. Under the Federal Law, it is illegal to get involved in businesses of an obscene manner; anyone who does that can face fines or imprisonment if convicted. Federal law prohibits the use of misleading website domain names with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing harmful or obscene material. For example, using a cartoon character or children´s television program in the domain of a website that contains harmful or obscene material may be punishable under federal law.
2. Hate Speech
Oh…oh! Some of you are not going to like this one — please, take a deep breath; let’s dive into the deep pool and have so much fun. There are times when this nature of speech is protected, at times, there are no guarantees: wacky-wacky, you can lose your job for making racist statements. You can lose your job for making sexist statements at work, you can lose your job for homophobic statements, depending on where you live. First Amendment absolutists would love this example, you know whom I am talking about: The United States Supreme Court ruled that the Westboro Baptist Church had the right to promote hateful protests at the military funerals, with the exception of fighting words; this includes the intent to incite violence, encouraging an audience to commit illegal acts, speech that is used to inflame another and that will likely incite physical retaliation. Saying that not all cultures are equal; some are better than others is for instance protected under the First Amendment. Criticizing any religion, including Islam is protected under the First Amendment. Criticizing Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, Asians, etc. is also protected under the First Amendment, which means that these kinds of statements are not qualified as hate speech. You can raise concerns about illegal immigration, gay rights, straight parades, etc. The First Amendment also protects people who oppose these views.
3.Threats
Speeches that constitute threats are not protected under the First Amendment, especially threats to someone else’s life or a politically motivated threat. With that said, threats of social ostracism and boycotts are protected under the First Amendment. Your boss has the legal right to threaten to fire you if you don’t do your job well, or if you don’t respect the values of the company where you’re working. Youtube has the legal right to threaten to remove your video or even your channel if you violate the community guidelines. Someone, please help here: I am not certain if your family’s right to threaten to ostracize you if you’re a member of the LGTBQ community, although I don’t find it pleasant — if I’m wrong here, please comment on this blog; that’s how I can learn from each one of you. The Church or another religious institution has the right to threaten to expel anyone who does not respect their way of life. Any online politically motivated threat is illegal under the U.S. Constitution. Debt Collectors have the right to threaten to sue you if you procrastinate purposefully by failing to meet the deadlines, in relation to your bills.
4.Defamation
We may have many nuanced perspectives on what defamation truly means; this is why context matters, here is why: The First Amendment does not protect anyone who chooses to defame another person through written or verbal communication; however, facts have to be provably true, and provide the truth can cost more than you can afford to pay; it is much harder than one might think because someone’s opinion about you is protected under the First Amendment — because free speech gives people the right to have their own points of view and courts do not have the right to hinder public speech. In some countries, you can face criminal charges for defamation, countries such as China, Japan, Andorra, South Korea, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada, Albania and Norway. In the U.S., you must be able to prove that the statements against you are false as a private individual, but it varies from state to state. If the statements against you are not false, no matter how unpopular or politically incorrect it might be, the truth is the key against defamation.
5.Violation of copyrights rules
Publishing confidential and copyrights materials can be a criminal offense; details are too complex to explain because to what extent the government claims to decide that they have to protect intellectual property rights to restrict speech? To what extent the individual can claim that their speech is restricted by the government for reasons that they cannot understand? People may have their opinions about this subject, depending on where they see themselves ideologically — sometimes, it isn’t clear, how all of these rules are can be in conflict with how each individual’s concept of the First Amendment, so, I am not going to play expert here. The United States Supreme Court, in Harper & Row Publishers v. Nation Enterprises(1985), held that copyright law is a permissible speech restriction, essentially carving out a new exception to first amendment protection: Any speech that copies another’s expression, and that is not a fair use, is unprotected by the First Amendment against a copyright infringement claim.
6.Commercial speech
Commercial speech is protected in relation to commercial advertising, solicitation, and promises. With that said, commercial speech is subject to regulations to protect customers and to prevent fraud. This type of protection is in the public’s best interest, while still recognizing the right for firms to communicate freely between them and their potential target groups. The First Amendment protects the rights to the free market, which is a symbol of the American Dream. This is what makes America great.
7.Crimes involving speech
The First Amendment does protect forms of speech that are used to commit a crime such as murder, human trafficking, child abuse, domestic violence, extortion, and harassment. Reporting a crime and racially profiling someone responsible for the crime is protected under the First Amendment; however, hate crimes are violations of the First Amendment. The Patriot Act made it illegal to possess material support for domestic and international terrorism, even if the intention of those involved is to offer aid and support the so-called peaceful alternatives.
8.Child pornography
In the United States and in any other society, you cannot allow this madness to be protected under any constitution. this form of speech is not protected, and it shouldn’t be because it depicts a minor performing sexual acts or showing their private parts. Let’s recognize the red flags and read warning signs because children around the world have the right to be protected, regardless of their creed, race, religion and where they happen to come from. When a child reports such a problem, don’t blame the child, listen!
