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Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or
by ISL 9y ago
Amendment I:
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.
Given that the above is the law of our land, how can a recipient of an NSL be barred from publishing it in its entirety or giving it to a news outlet to do so? "No law" is clear in both meaning and intent.
- dandare 9y agoJust a guess: The constitution is interpreted by the Supreme Court, which decides about reasonable exceptions, for instance in the case of national security.
- dboreham 9y ago'And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.'
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- tallanvor 9y agoEven those judges that claim to follow a strict interpretation of the constitution as written (as opposed to the spirit) have recognized there are legitimate exceptions to the first amendment with regards to free speech, which include fighting words, obscenity, defamation (slander/libel), some court proceedings (gag orders), and national security concerns. Most of these are fairly narrow. National security letters are generally the most questionable limitation, although their use has been clarified somewhat.