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The First Amendment Scr

Essay by   •  March 14, 2012  •  Essay  •  404 Words (2 Pages)  •  2,267 Views

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"Should people under the age of 18 enjoy the same first amendment rights as the individuals that are over the age of 18?" Individuals under the age of 18 should have the same first amendment rights for many reasons that may seem astonishing, but have changed the lives of many. For instance, the First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion and the freedom of expression from government interference. Freedom of religion gives people the right to choose any religion that they want to be a part of as long as it does not violate the laws of the constitution. While this may be giving individuals the right to change their religion or just not follow it, it also gives them the right to say that they can believe in anything they want to even if their parents believe in something else. This restrains the parents from forcing the child under the age of 18 to believe in something that they don't feel is right. Also ,the Supreme Court has also recognized that the government may prohibit some speech that may cause violence. Obviously, the government has to see that the amendment does not allow illegal actions by the people, fighting, commercial speech, or obscenity. However, if individuals under the age of 18 got the right to freedom of expression, I think they would take it for granted because they would be able to get away with pretty much anything that they say. Which would lead to bullying, harassing, abusing of the constitution laws, and so much more. They have to make sure that they are very clear as to what expressions are given the right to be said. Last but not least, in my opinion they should have the same rights because it gives those individuals the right to freedom of speech. For example, in an article I read, a couple of students decided to start a newspaper just for fun outside of school. They did this so that they could write whatever they wanted and not get in trouble for it since they owned the paper. They got in trouble by the principle, but why did they get in trouble? It was read in their school and that is how he heard about it. They didn't have the rights of the first amendment! If they had had those rights they would have been free to say what they feel like.

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