First Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

First Amendment - Essay Example By the same provision, people can join and associate with groups and organizations without government intervention (Cohen, 2008). This law grants people the right to appeal to the government in support or against policies affecting them or those that arouse strong feelings amongst the people. People can therefore exploit this provision to gather signatures in support of a cause, or lobby legislative bodies to support or oppose legislation. The Supreme Court has the legal mandate to interpret the extent of protection afforded to these rights. The establishment clause prohibits the government, by way of legislation, from coming up with a religion that is well known or recognizing one religion over others. However, some government activity serving religious entities have been allowed by the Supreme Court, for example, provision of bus transportation using government resources for parochial school students (Cohen, 2008). The Supreme Court strongly demands for justification of government interference of free speech but allows for speech prohibition where there is risk of breach of peace or violence. The government may prohibit association or prevent formation of groups that promote or engage in illegal activities. While the right to association prohibits the government from requiring groups to register or disclose their members or government denying people benefits based on membership of a particular group, there are instances where courts feel that the benefits of registration or disclosure far outweigh interference with first amendment rights (Anastaplo, 2010). The protection of the right to speech and assembly for speakers vary with the speaker’s forum. As the Supreme Court breaks them down; there are traditional public forums, nonpublic forums and designated forums, some public property are not classified. The traditional public forums consist of all the areas traditionally open to political speech and debate such as side walks and public