The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech, the press and religion. It also protects the right to peaceful protest and to petition the government.
The meaning of the First Amendment has been the subject of continuing interpretation and dispute over the years. How do these freedoms work and how are they protected?
What can we learn from major rulings on contemporary First Amendment issues? Are Americans’ attitudes toward these core freedoms changing?
Guests:
- Lata Nott, executive director of the Freedom Forum Institute's First Amendment Center
- Mike Ariens, professor at St. Mary's School of Law concentrating in areas including constitutional law and American legal history
- Jim Wheaton, founder and senior counsel for the First Amendment Project; teaches First Amendment and Media Law at the Stanford Graduate School of Communications and U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism
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This interview aired on Thursday, December 20, 2018.
