Dedicated to the acceptance, medical treatment, & legal protection of individuals in the process of correcting the misalignment of their anatomical sex, & supporting their transition into society.
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Video courtesy of Liam Lundy and Sam Miller (December 2007). Time 00:08:07.
Washington, DC, VA, USA. Following ratification, the US Constitution was amended with a Bill of Rights, designed to explicitly secure civil liberties for the people and protect them from arbitrary actions by their government. Passage of the First Amendment was considered so important, the Constitution's framers gave it first position in the Bill of Rights.
Essentially, the First Amendment prohibits the United States Congress from making any laws
respecting the establishment of religion (the Establishment Clause),
prohibit the free exercise of religion (the Free Exercise Clause),
infringing on the freedom of speech,
infringing on the freedom of the press,
limiting the right to peaceably assemble, or
limiting the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The amendment explicitly prohibits only the named rights from being abridged by laws made by the Congress. However, the courts have interpreted the text as having broad application throughout society.
The first sentence in the body of the Constitution reserves all law-making (legislative) authority to the Congress. The courts have held that the First Amendment's terms also extend to the executive and judicial branches.
Additionally, in the 20th century the Supreme Court has held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment "incorporates" the limitations of the First Amendment.
The restrictions of the First Amendment also apply to the states, including the local governments within each of those states.
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