Famous Quotes & Sayings

Potter Stewart

At the very least, the freedom that Congress is empowered to secure includes the freedom to buy whatever a white man can buy, the right to live wherever a white man can live. If Congress cannot say that being a freeman means at least this much, then the 13th Amendment made a promise it cannot keep.

Contrary to what right-wing talk radio would want the country to believe, the First Amendment does apply to teachers in the classroom as long as what they're saying is consistent with school policy and is within the curriculum.

William Rehnquist

To reach its result, the court necessarily has had to find within the scope of the 14th Amendment a right that was apparently completely unknown to the drafters of the amendment,

Tom Daschle

We feel very strongly that this wasn't the approach in which we would have chosen to debate this incredibly important issue, ... We are having to deal with very unfair and very unfortunate circumstances, so we will present our case through the amendment process.

We felt that under the First Amendment free speech protections that we did not have the right to, based on content, refuse the ad.

We are very alarmed that our First Amendment rights have been undermined to the degree that the city of Boston now thinks the rights of free expression, the right to rally and protest means you get out into an area like this.

Antonin Scalia

We are unwilling to send police and judges into a new thicket of 4th Amendment law, to seek a creature of uncertain description that is neither a plain-view inspection nor yet a ""full-blown search.

We're very happy the Senate chose to keep the full text of the amendment as the ballot question. It's really important that voters know what their vote will mean when they cast it in November. We look forward to having that discussion with the voters.

We welcome today's lease amendment, and when that amendment becomes final, we will immediately begin to examine available options in San Diego County. The Chargers are very hopeful that the amendment will result in the building of a new Super Bowl-caliber stadium in San Diego County.

The public input is essential to the overall process. I won't say that the charter is strengthened by this process but it is a very positive step to have the charter reviewed and essentially clarified where needed, or amended as needed. The process of reviewing the charter should be viewed as a positive step overall.

Bill Self

The tournament loss was obviously very disappointing. But I think this team can get a lot better. With another piece or two, this team could become great. We could probably use another big guy and a perimeter shooter. The good thing is these guys have a chance to come back next year and try to make amends as much as we can.

Ben Shapiro

The Fourth Amendment is quite clear on the notion that search and seizure must not be unreasonable. It is difficult to think of something more unreasonable than searching the private phone records and digital information of citizens who are suspected of nothing.

We do not need a new Fourth Amendment for cyberspace. But we need to recognize that people are conducting more of their lives online. The price tag for this technology should not include a loss of privacy.

Eliot Spitzer

Let's create a regime that makes sale of bullets to anybody not licensed to carry a gun illegal, makes resale illegal, micro-stamps bullets so they can be traced. No Second Amendment issues here. This would have a remarkable impact on both violence and the capacity to solve shooting crimes.

We're trying to stand up not only for First Amendment rights that have been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court but for regular people who want to challenge incumbent politicians and require reasonable resources to do that. This law makes it very difficult to unseat an incumbent--if you hit your limit you can't even drive yourself to a campaign event.

Gloria Steinem

The Republican Party supported the Equal Rights Amendment before the Democratic Party did. But what happened was that a lot of very right-wing Democrats, after the civil rights bill of 1964, left the Democratic Party and gradually have taken over the Republican Party.

Medea Benjamin

There are not supposed to be designated cages where you can exercise your First Amendment rights. It's supposed to be all over this country.

Dianne Feinstein

For the life of me, I don't understand what honest motive there is in putting this in front of this body to philosophically debate marriage on a constitutional amendment that is not going to happen, and which is enormously divisive in all of our communities.

Chellie Pingree

It's crazy that the Constitution has to be amended to clarify what for the majority of Americans is a clear and true statement: corporations are not people.

Floyd Abrams

When I began we did not really have a lot of First Amendment law. It is really surprising to think of it this way, but a lot of the law - most of the law that relates to the First Amendment freedom of the press in America - is really within living memory.

When lawmakers seek to rewrite our Fourth Amendment rights, they should at least have the gumption to do so in public. Americans have a reasonable expectation that their federal government will not gather records about their health, their wealth and the transactions of their daily life without probable cause of a crime and without a court order.

John Ashcroft

While some have argued that the Second Amendment guarantees only a 'collective' right of the states to maintain militias, I believe the amendment's plain meaning and original intent prove otherwise.

With $4 billion at stake, you would fight to the last, ... has been a poison for U.S.-Canada relations?. That is what the Byrd amendment has generated.

Marc Ecko

who will vigorously and zealously represent my First Amendment interests.

This resolution is hardly surprising since the APA has made it clear over a long period of time that it believes violent video games are harmful and thus justify enactment of unconstitutional restrictions on First Amendment freedoms,

This report confirms everything we've ever said about why the Byrd Amendment should be overturned,

The reason we have the First Amendment is to protect people who say things other people don't like.

Marshall Herskovitz

Remember: the ratings system is a voluntary infringement of First Amendment rights, an uneasy bargain between the needs of parents, the needs of artists, and the needs of large media corporations to make profits. Any time we chip away at the First Amendment, we should at least do it with some reverence.

The debate in the party was, should we participate in these elections and therefore legitimize a piecemeal amendment to this crucial document?

John Ridley

Until politicos take a true stand in defense of marriage by proposing an anti-adultery amendment to the Constitution, stop demonizing gays and lesbians when the one debasing your marriage is the individual in the mirror.

Rich Lowry

The debate about the war seems pretty robust and free. Many publications, from the New Yorker to the Nation, feel perfectly comfortable printing anti-American articles and that's fine. That's what the First Amendment is all about.

Sharron Angle

I feel that the Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms for our citizenry. This not for someone who's in the military. This is not for law enforcement. This is for us. And, in fact, when you read that Constitution and the Founding Fathers, they intended this to stop tyranny.

John Connolly

There is no doubt that our forward effort was not what we would have liked it to have been and they know that they have to be much better on Saturday. However, the guys have worked extremely hard during the week, and are determined to make amends this weekend.