Famous Quotes & Sayings

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

To think I was foolish enough to believe I lived in America and there were these things called the First Amendment and freedom of the press. If my unpublished communications aren't safe from government eyes, then the tools of every business reporter in this country become fair game for any company that doesn't like scrutiny and chooses to play the 'conspiracy' card.

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.

Floyd Abrams

First Amendment issues are always unpopular. That's why we need a First Amendment.

The governor's HOPE amendment is designed to keep the Democrats from spending lottery dollars on things other than HOPE and pre-K, which is what they did before Sonny Perdue was governor.

We have the best police officers and firefighters in the world, and the mayor has no problem with them peacefully exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of expression.

Orrin Hatch

To make a long story short, the Lautenberg amendment would basically do away with gun shows and it would push these people out in the streets where we'd have more problems with guns,

We're also pleased that the governor vetoed two other pro-homosexual bills. One of them effectively would have silenced pro-family candidates on issues of sexual morality, and the other would have hampered efforts to collect petition signatures to put a state constitutional amendment protecting marriage on the ballot.

We care about this process. We can't let this amendment move forward.

We can use all the assistance we can get to assure the amendment is passed.

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.

Noam Chomsky

The 14th Amendment was recognized right away to be problematic. The concept of person was both too narrow and too broad, and the courts went to work to overcome both of those flaws.

We are disappointed that politicians of both parties chose to toss overboard the First Amendment and free artistic and creative expression in favor of political expediency,

Pierre Omidyar

When you have mass surveillance, it's impossible to meet the intent of the First Amendment because reporters can't talk to sources because sources are afraid to talk.

Hank Johnson

The idea that corporations have the same First Amendment protections of free speech as people is troubling. Corporations are not people. They don't attend our schools, get married and have children. They don't vote in our elections.

I support the Second Amendment and believe strongly that families around the country have a right to protect themselves.

Our goal was basically to make sure the voters clearly knew what the amendment would mean and what it would do.

Ayelet Waldman

Names are important in terms of how you construct your characters' identity, ... But the First Amendment is more important than anything.

Jim Jordan

What I don't want to do is restrict law-abiding citizens from their Second Amendment rights, which are focused on freedom. I point out all the time. Remember, bad guys aren't stupid, they're just bad.

What we should be doing in this amendment is to provide every single dollar that we need to conduct the operation now going on in Kosovo. We should not provide one dime less and neither should we try to use this to play games with the budget.

We continue to believe that changes to the Wright Amendment will negatively impact local businesses, the economy and potentially thousands of jobs throughout North Texas.

Andrew Schneider

We're a little confused as to why this constitutional amendment is necessary because the courts have also protected that right to pray voluntarily in schools.

We support that they will express their First Amendment rights.

Bob Riley

When I proposed this amendment to the Legislature, it simply removed segregationist language from our constitution -- something I hope all Alabamians would support.

What you had was a lot of young volunteers who, frankly, objected to this election being decided behind closed doors, without the media having a full view and without our observers having a full view. We executed our First Amendment rights in a peaceful manner, with full decorum.

I support gun safety measures, and I'll tell you, I grew up in a family of gun owners and hunters, and I went hunting with my dad as a kid, and you know, I have deep respect for the Second Amendment and the culture of our country.

Eric Holder

I urge the citizens of Ferguson who have been peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights to join with law enforcement in condemning the actions of looters, vandals and others seeking to inflame tensions and sow discord.

The people of Houston know he has something to hide. We hope their TV stations don't betray their First Amendment rights and obligations by capitulating.

Sitaram Yechury

The process was put in place only after a Constitutional amendment that we all supported. It had to begin after a law came in force. There should be no issues about it.

Ariel Sharon

There is a problem with the law on compensating victims of terrorism, ... formulate an amendment to the law and sort out this problem as soon as possible.