Amendments in the Bill of Rights

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Amendments in the Bill of Rights
First Amendment
The initial ten amendments constitute the bill of rights and they were ratified in December 15, 1791. The first amendment dictates that Congress is not permitted to legislate on laws that praise or prohibit the establishment of a particular religion or restrict the free exercise of speech and media or the right of assembly to people and petitioning the government for reparation of grievances (American Library Association n.p). The part on press and speech liberties means that people are at liberty for expressing their views. It also allows them to receive exposure of a wide array of opinions and perspectives. It is intended to give citizens a chance to exchange ideas even when they may be unpopular. Freedom of assembly and petitioning the government means that citizens are not prohibited from gathering together with others to champion for a common cause. It restricts coercing people to join a particular group. Citizens are also free to file a petition to the government or a lawsuit. It allows citizens to practice their faith or the freedom to have no religious beliefs. The government is also prohibited from endorsing particular religions over others.
Freedom of speech incorporates written, verbal and non-verbal expressions. Such non-verbal expressions include some like sit-ins, art, photographs, films, and advertisements. This amendment allows different media such as televisions, bloggers, radio and other internet based media to distribute a variety of news, facts, opinions, and pictures. It also protects the recipients of such expressions as they have a right to read, hear and see any expression.
Passing laws that establish an official religion are in the amendment’s violation. It is because the amendment safeguards separation of the church and state. It may also violate the amendment by attempting to regulate content of speech. The police move to dispel preachers from distributing religious pamphlets to willing passerby in a public space is a breach to the amendment. It may also be a violation of freedom of speech to prevent citizens from holding signs in the public roadways. This is because all government officials swear to uphold the constitution (American Civil Liberties Union).
The government may limit the rights and protections of the first amendment in certain situations. For instance, it forbids fabricated statements concerning a person meant to damage one’s reputation. It may also in certain circumstances limit obscenity, hateful words and those words that may instigate violence among certain groups of people. The government also reserves the right to dictate the time, place and mode in which people make speech. For instance, it may enforce such measures through requiring activists to secure meeting permits before staging a public rally or protest (Cohen 24).
Second Amendment
The second ...