Over four hundred years ago our first amendment was drafted into our constitution which gave Americans the right to free speech no matter what their cause but it seems only if you’re eighteen these rules apply. This would stir up quite a controversy in the Supreme Court case Morse v Frederick. On a crisp winter morning in 2007 a student by the name of Joseph Frederick rushed to school to meet his friends to watch the Olympic torch speed by his school. A news team was on sight to capture the event, and as soon as the cameras panned over to Frederick’s position the group unfurled a banner which read Bong Hits 4 Jesus. The school staff quickly confiscated the banner and suspended Fredrick for ten days. Fredrick feeling wronged filed a District Court civil rights lawsuit against the school board and lost. So it was taken to the next court and again they ruled in favor of the school board. Refusing to give up Fredrick took the Supreme Court and it was ruled once again the school had done no wrong. After the verdict Frederick was quoted saying “it was just something I read on a bumper sticker.”

          Another example of this would be in a small town in Arkansas. A young boy named Taylor Ellis who was chosen to have a column done on him in the yearbook. The article revealed that he was homosexual. When this was seen by administrators it was quickly taken out with fear it might have been viewed as offensive. The students quickly fired back with the argument that the article could help with bullying and making it easier for other kids to come out. It was called bullying and discrimination and Ellis was quoted saying “it would probably means the book would be late but I Intend to fight this.”

Finally, I believe this because for example look at the Klu Klux Klan in the documentary Live Free. The Klan apposed gay marriage and held gatherings against it and said many offensive things about the gay community. The police said “they have the right to gather and say what they please.”  We all know though if it was a child that said “ gay marriage is wrong” things would have played out much differently.