What Is the First Amendment?
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from abridging freedom of speech, the press, religion, assembly, and the right to petition. Ratified in 1791, it reflects our Founders’ conviction that liberty depends on the individual’s ability to think, speak, and associate freely, without government interference.
The Center for Individual Rights takes on cases in which individuals face suppression of their beliefs or of their right to form groups and associate with like-minded citizens. Our vision is a nation where the public and government officials value, respect, and safeguard free expression.
Why This Still Matters
Our First Amendment rights are a vital foundation upon which other liberties rest. Free expression allows citizens to challenge power, expose wrongdoing, and participate fully in democratic life. Free association ensures that individuals can form groups around shared beliefs and values without government intrusion. And the right to anonymous expression—long recognized as implicit in the First Amendment—protects individuals from retaliation when exercising these rights.
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Yet, this cornerstone of our free society faces new and intensifying threats. Government at every level is seeking to regulate online speech, pressure private parties to silence disfavored viewpoints, and compel individuals to speak in ways that violate their beliefs. At the same time, mandatory disclosures of membership and donor lists of private associations threaten to chill participation in civil life and punish citizens for the company they keep.
The First Amendment was ratified precisely to guard against these abuses. In Rosenberger v. Rector (1995), CIR won a landmark Supreme Court victory establishing that the government cannot deny funding to student groups based solely on their viewpoint—a ruling that continues to protect free expression across the country. By litigating constitutional cases like these, CIR works to ensure the First Amendment is enforced as written—a guaranteed protection, not a hollow promise.
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