At what times dont you have free speech?

Question

does free speech entitle you to say watever? can you state your opinion? wat cant you say. becasuse i recently said george bush was stpid in history and i got in trobule so i said i have the right of free speech to voice my opinion then i got sent to the principal and got suspended.. so can you tell me what free speech applies to?

Answer 1

the only time free speech is void is when someone else's life is put in danger...a.k.a Screaming Fire in a crowded movie theater,or bomb in an airport,when in reality,there is no fire or bomb...if your intent is to cause harm...you will be prosecuted...but other than that,your pretty much free to say anything

Answer 2

The issue of free speech is often misunderstood. Nobody can make a law that denies you the legal right to speak your mind, but that doesn't stop you from getting other forms of trouble. The law doesn't saw WHEN you have the right of free speech. The classic case is that you can yell "FIRE" in a crowded theater - but if someone gets hurt in the panic, it is YOU who will face the legal consequences.

I think the technical basis for what happened to you is that in some situations, free speech can be considered disruptive. And a classroom is one of those cases where you were guilty of bad timing. You surely have the right to suggest that GWB is stupid (and I don't entirely disagree with you, though he's smarter than he sometimes seems.)

The problem is that you did it in a school class, which is a governmentally mandated situation. (Ever hear of a truant officer?) You MUST attend school up to a certain age. When you do, you are expected to show respect for the people who are performing this job trying to teach you something. If the history teach had not invited opinions, you were out of line as a BEHAVIOR issue. Your stated opinion might not have been the actual problem. It might just have been the fact that you stated it when the teacher hadn't invited it.

I'll offer you this advice. You can become a "jailhouse lawyer" and assert your rights at inopportune moments. And in so doing, give yourself more trouble than you really ever wanted to have. OR you can learn to improve your timing and voice your opinions at those times when the teacher invites discussion. Save your opinions for those places where a legal and/or social requirement isn't part of the picture.

Answer 3

There is the guaranteed right of free speech with very limited exceptions - most pertaining to the media. You could easily look up all the laws on this in the time it would take me to type it out.

On a social level though, I think we should NEVER be afraid to exercise our freedom of speech. WITH THAT SAID: That does not mean we should be irresponsible with it either. No - I do NOT buy into the whole political correctness bull. However, saying something offensive for the sheer sake of being offensive isn't exactly morally or socially right either (although constitutionally protected!) I could march around maliciously calling people racially derogatory names but that doesn't make me right, just legally protected.

So, it sounds like the situation you are describing was a teenager being a smarta$$ in class. The teacher saying, "You need to behave" would be an appropriate response. Unless you instigated things further, then suspension was uncalled for. Again, if you didn't provoke things beyond "bush is stupid", then you have a case to present to the school board (and beyond if you really feel strongly about it). With the presumption that you were rather innocent in all this, if you were my child then I would have been climbing all over that school's a$$ before they could blink.

REMINDER: Morally right - even socially right - and legally protected are two COMPLETELY separate worlds. You were legally protected to express your opinion about the president's mental capacity. You may be socially wrong for disrupting class just to draw attention to yourself.

Answer 4

Free speech SHOULD apply everywhere. However, if you're not an adult, your free speech rights are much more limited. The teacher could argue that you were disrupting class.

If you're out in a public place, you can say whatever you want. However, private places frequently restrict our rights, and not just the First Amendment right to free speech. Many private places ban firearms, which restricts our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Even public places, such as schools, ban firearms, so apparently the government thinks it's OK to restrict our Constitutional rights, as well.

The Bill of Rights was supposed to recognize our rights everywhere in the U.S., or at least in every public place. However, people have let the government erode the Bill of Rights gradually. Young people need to fight to keep their Constitutional rights.

If you feel strongly about your rights, then be vocal about it (in a constructive and positive way). You could try approaching your teacher after class and pointing out that you were merely expressing your opinion and did not mean to disrupt class. Don't interrupt class to speak your mind, but if you're in a healthy discussion and express your dissenting views in a professional way, then all should be fine.

Answer 5

Free speech only has to do with the law, not school policy. Schools can decide for themselves what students can and can't do, but if simply stating that George Bush is stupid and then defending your right to free speech was all it took to get you suspended then you might want to contact the local news to expose such an abuse of power. However, I'm betting there was a little more to it than that.

Answer 6

You do have the right to free speech never forget it or waive it for anything even if they punish you even if they threaten you dont ever give it up and never deny yourself. There is nowhere where you aren't allowed free speech its one of your rights granted to you by the constitution. Now you should respect people and such dont go running around cursing at people or using racial slurs just cause you can unless you want the consequences. But you did nothing wrong specially considering push is pretty damn dumb..............just quote him IS OUR CHILDREN LEARNING.

Answer 7

The concept of free speech is that the government can not penalize you (i.e., send you to jail) because of what you say. That's all. However, it may not apply if you said something like. "I'm going to kill George Bush".

Answer 8

you cannot say something false, if it will harm someone

you cannot use free speech as an excuse to be disorderly or to incite a riot

you cannot use free speech as an excuse to disclose classified information

you cannot use free speech as an excuse to disclose certain protected personal information.

You, sound like you became disruptive and disorderly, in the incident you described.

Answer 9

LOL Sorry your school loves George Bush..You prob should've worded it different though..Like "I think he is a huge mistake and a failure" Then given all the examples of why you are right..Sorry..Laugh it off it's no big deal

Answer 10

We have no rights at school. They can search anything they want without a warrent. And we can get in trouble for speaking our minds, but once we leave campus they cant do sh*t.