Peaceful Assembly

Peaceful Assembly is a guaranteed right in the United States Constitution. It lets people express their ideas publicly or privately as a group. Should people be allowed to assemble if their message could create a threat to the United States?

Should people have the right to gather as a group to express their ideas about issues?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

If the message conveyed by the group assembling could cause people to go against the United States government, should that assembly be allowed?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

If the message being conveyed in an assembly is degrading to a certain racial or ethnic group, should that assembly be allowed?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

One of the most controversial cases regarding freedom of assembly happened in Skokie, Illinois, in 1977. Skokie is a suburb of Chicago with a large Jewish population. At the time, many survivors of German concentration camps lived in Skokie. The American Nazi party, a modern descendant of the Nazi party that executed millions of Jews during World War II, wanted to march in Skokie. Skokie's city government required that they post a 300,000 bond to get a parade permit. The city took the position that the march could easily lead to violence. The Nazis claimed that the high bond was meant to prevent their march and that it violated their freedoms of speech and assembly. Did the government, in your opinion, have a right to create such a high bond?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

Do you think the act of the government above was limiting the Nazis' free speech?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

This poll was created on 2001-12-25 19:48:42 by roxygirl1204