What is the Bill of Rights? Do they affect us today? The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments as written by our founding fathers in 1791. Although they were written to provide rights to the citizens of the United States throughout time they have been infringed upon and taken advantage of. Politicians have tried to take away some our rights that were gaurunteed in the Bill of Rights, but have yet to prevail. I will provide some of the amendments in the bill of rights and the problems they have faced.
The first amendment stated that 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. This has been tested time and time again. In the supreme court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) Students were suspended for wearing black armbands protesting the police action in Vietnam. School stated that it disrupted the environment of education, but the supreme court ruled that this act was unconstitutional because it infringed on the students first amendment right to free speech and expression. .
In the supreme court case Texas v. Johnson; The court ruled that criminalizing a person for desecration of the united states flag was unconstitutional and against their first amendment rights to free speech. In 1989 congress passed the Flag Protection Act, but was again ruled unconstitutional in U.S. v. Eichman in 1990. The freedom of speech among the other rights in the first amendment are a guaruntee and need not be infringed upon by the government or anyone else if we didn't have the right to speak our beleifs what kind of country would we be?.
The sencond amendment is just as interesting as the first it states that a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free stat.
