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. — First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
A Federal Court ruled this week that a Kansas law making it illegal to film animal abuse on factory farms violates the First Amendment: “The prohibition on taking pictures at an animal facility regulates speech for First Amendment purposes: The law plainly targets negative views about animal facilities and therefore discriminates based on viewpoint.”
As I posted earlier this week, the First Amendment also protects animals in pounds, including the right to photograph inhumane conditions there, too. Like agriculture gag laws, policies in pounds to prevent volunteers from speaking out on social media about what they see or to sign non-disclosure agreements are designed to protect cruelty in order to prevent reform.
Thankfully, courts are consistently ruling against factory farms, against regressive pound managers, against others — like PETA — that also engage in killing, and in favor of those who speak for animals. Kansas is the fourth state to have its law overturned on free speech grounds. Utah, Idaho, and Iowa also had their agriculture “gag” laws struck down as unconstitutional.
In a victory for anyone who has spoken out on behalf of animals mistreated, abused, and killed in city pounds, moreover, two Federal Courts of Appeal ruled last year that public officials, including the President of the United States, cannot censor comments or block individuals on their official social media pages for criticizing them and their policies: “the First Amendment does not permit a public official who uses a social media account for all manner of official purposes to exclude persons from otherwise-open online dialogue because they expressed views with which the official disagrees.”
And a California court rejected PETA’s argument that as an animal advocate, I was not entitled to the protection of the First Amendment when I gathered information to expose their killing, including the theft and killing of a family’s dog.
There were other victories. We forced the Mayor of Long Beach to cease violating the constitutional rights of reformers. Mayor Robert Garcia has been hiding Facebook comments critical of his handling of Long Beach Animal Care Services — an agency with low adoption and unacceptable levels of killing — from public view, actions that were not only morally reprehensible, but unconstitutional and therefore, illegal.
And a Pueblo City Councilmember tried, but failed thanks to the First Amendment, to intimidate citizens, reporters, and advocates of humane sheltering policies from challenging her on her defense of killing at the local pound.
Animals have no voice of their own and need others to speak for them. Regardless of whether it is a billion dollar company that profits on the abuse and killing of animals for food, a pound director who finds killing easier than doing the work necessary to stop it, an organization like PETA that rounds up to kill animals, a city councilmember, a mayor, or the President engaging in conduct that undermines our humane values, we cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated into silence. The stakes are too high.
The First Amendment gives us the protection we need to continue speaking out and fighting for reform.
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FAQs
Third Circuit
However the court ruled that the law in question, prohibiting the depiction of animal cruelty, violates the First Amendment, as it would create a new category of speech that is not protected by the free speech provision of the Amendment.
What does 1st Amendment protect? ›
The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
What act violated the First Amendment? ›
Sullivan (1964): “Although the Sedition Act was never tested in this Court, the attack upon its validity has carried the day in the court of history.” Today, the Sedition Act of 1798 is generally remembered as a violation of fundamental First Amendment principles.
What rights are protected under the 1st Amendment there are 5? ›
Apply landmark Supreme Court cases to contemporary scenarios related to the five pillars of the First Amendment and your rights to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
Is animal sacrifice protected by the First Amendment? ›
In the United States, animal sacrifice is protected under the First Amendment as a form of religious expression. This means that, even though animal cruelty laws exist, religious groups are exempt from them when it comes to animal sacrifice.
What has never been protected by the First Amendment? ›
The categories of unprotected speech include obscenity, child p*rnography, defamatory speech, false advertising, true threats, and fighting words.
What is the full text of the First Amendment? ›
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.
Is swearing protected by the First Amendment? ›
The Court has held that unless “fighting words” are involved, profane language has First Amendment protection. Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942). The concern with First Amendment protection for the use of profanity is particularly pronounced for political speech.
Who wrote the First Amendment? ›
James Madison (1751–1836), the chief author of the Bill of Rights and thus of the First Amendment, was the foremost champion of religious liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press in the Founding Era.
Has the First Amendment ever been broken? ›
1969The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District that Iowa public school officials violated the FirstAmendment rights of several students by suspending them for wearing black armbands to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
“A plaintiff may bring a Section 1983 claim alleging that public officials, acting in their official capacity, took action with the intent to retaliate against, obstruct, or chill the plaintiff's First Amendment rights.” Ariz.
Is violating an amendment illegal? ›
The Constitution and it's amendments are limitations upon government. Technically no person acting in a private capacity can violate an amendment.
What are the limits to free speech? ›
Speech on government land or in government buildings usually may be limited, if the government does not discriminate on the basis of the viewpoint of the speech. Additionally, speech by prisoners and by members of the military may be broadly restricted.
What is an example of the First Amendment being violated? ›
Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969. Three public school students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. They were suspended from school for refusing to remove them.
What is not considered free speech? ›
Categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment (and therefore may be restricted) include obscenity, fraud, child p*rnography, speech integral to illegal conduct, speech that incites imminent lawless action, speech that violates intellectual property law, true threats, false ...
What does the Constitution say about animal cruelty? ›
The U.S. Constitution does not mention animals, and the primary legal authority for the control of animals is at the state level of government.
Which of the following is not protected by the 1st Amendment? ›
Categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment (and therefore may be restricted) include obscenity, fraud, child p*rnography, speech integral to illegal conduct, speech that incites imminent lawless action, speech that violates intellectual property law, true threats, false ...
What behavior is protected by the First Amendment? ›
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech, religion and the press. It also protects the freedom to peacefully assemble or gather together or associate with a group of people for social, economic, political or religious purposes, as well as the right to protest the government.
Are animals protected under the 14th Amendment? ›
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
Therefore, nonhuman animals are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.
