The First Amendment

The First Amendment bars Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, or abridging the freedom of speech, of the press, of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, as part of the Bill of Rights. Since Gitlow v. New York in 1925, the Supreme Court has applied its protections to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. It limits only government action, not private employers or platforms.

Free speech protection is broad but not absolute. Under Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, government may punish advocacy of violence only when it is directed to inciting imminent lawless action and likely to produce it. New York Times v. Sullivan in 1964 required public officials suing for libel to prove actual malice, and the Pentagon Papers case in 1971 sharply limited prior restraints on the press. The religion clauses require government neither to establish nor to burden religion, and in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District in 2022 the Court replaced older tests with an approach based on history and tradition.

The First Amendment shapes many government debates. Citizens United v. FEC in 2010 held that independent political spending is protected speech, and the petition clause protects lobbying. In 2025 the Court allowed parents to opt children out of public school lessons on religious grounds in Mahmoud v. Taylor and upheld state age verification for online sexual content in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. Ongoing disputes involve social media moderation, campus speech, government pressure on platforms, and the line between religious liberty and antidiscrimination laws.