The Importance Of Restrictions On Freedom Of Speech

The Bill of Rights has gained existence since December 15, 1791. Being supported mainly by anti-federalists, the Bill of Rights upheld what was needed to protect individual liberty. From the ratification we have our first ten amendments. The most important and used today is the first amendment. The amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting… petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This amendment is very powerful but cannot be overly abused. Over time the freedom of speech has been constricted. There are many court cases that display the limitation of free speech. Environmental factors and certain materials are not covered in free speech. To understand our rights and know how and when our rights are limited, we must

Given from what I have researched for this paper the restrictions on freedom of speech is agreeable. The restrictions are dependent on context and variable situations. From my past experiences, people cannot tell the difference between regular speech and those that inspire aggressiveness. There should be a balance between citizen’s freedoms of speech. An example is that different people should have different levels of freedom of speech. For those who write, print, or speak to the public should have the greatest amount of speech freedom. They should be able to voice out their opinions and fact to the public. Those who have criminal records should have their speech right limited because they will the most likely candidates to spark disorder and endanger public safety. In a different perspective using convicts, we will examine how inmates rights are effected after incarceration. The overall objective needs of a prison is to be secure and at ease. In 1987 Supreme Court Case Turner v. Safley argued that the prison guards were limiting their free speech by not allowing them to send letter mails to each other. The ruling of this case lead to the creation called the “Turner Standard.” The Turner Standard consist of a series of four questions that depicts whether the contents of speech or prison policy is considered constitutional. The four standards are: the policy in question must address a valid issue of prison security or rehabilitation, inmates must have alternate means of communication, courts must consider the impact of speech on other prisoners, guards, and prison resources, and are there other alternatives that would not restrict a prisoner’s freedom of expression. In another Supreme Court case there was a questioning of reading materials in prison library. In this case each prisoner has the right to get readings like books and magazines. The limitations is