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Free Speech Doesn’t Mean You Can Say Whatever You Want
Free speech sounds simple but it is anything but that
“Free speech” is one of those ideas that sound like it should be simple to describe.
It emphatically is not.
Although the concept of free speech is most often closely linked with America’s First Amendment, it should be noted that many nations around the world have put some form of freedom of expression into their founding documents and constitutions.
And that’s just one of the things that makes the idea of free speech ever more complex in our global world.
What the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution actually says
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791, is part of the Bill of Rights, and provides for a number of important freedoms.
It states, in its entirety: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Perhaps the first and most important part of the freedom of speech as guaranteed by…
