re: "...the right of the people peaceably to assemble..."
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States Congress from enacting legislation that would abridge the right of the people to assemble peaceably. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution makes this prohibition applicable to state governments.
The Supreme Court of the United States has held that the First Amendment protects the right to conduct a peaceful public assembly. The right to assemble is not, however, absolute. Government officials cannot simply prohibit a public assembly in their own discretion, but the government can impose restrictions on the time, place, and manner of peaceful assembly, provided that constitutional safeguards are met. Time, place, and manner restrictions are permissible so long as they “are justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech, . . . are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and . . . leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information.”
Such time, place, and manner restrictions can take the form of requirements to obtain a permit for an assembly. The Supreme Court has held that it is constitutionally permissible for the government to require that a permit for an assembly be obtained in advance. The government can also make special regulations that impose additional requirements for assemblies that take place near major public events.
...
snip
...
The First Amendment does not provide the right to conduct an assembly at which there is a clear and present danger of riot, disorder, or interference with traffic on public streets, or other immediate threat to public safety or order. Statutes that prohibit people from assembling and using force or violence to accomplish unlawful purposes are permissible under the First Amendment.
Therefore, all the idiots gathering without PPE for the purpose of protesting social distancing, stay at home directives, [where is that yellow flag with the 'don't cough on me' snake]... you folks need to take your protest first to 1 First St NE, Washington, DC 20543. Bring an attorney, hopefully one a bit smarter than yourselves.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Most folks don’t grasp this fact.
-Laelth
Last edited Mon May 25, 2020, 12:36 PM - Edit history (1)
...explains and details personal and civil rights. As I understand it, the BoR is a firewall against government violation of individual rights. It was the states demand for constitutional protection for individual right that prompted the inclusion of the BoR. The 14th extended that protection to restrict state governments as well.
IMHO, the thinking that any article in the BoR articulates completely an individual right is seriously misguided.
I have a few thoughts concerning protest leaders going off such that they exhibit obvious ignorance of their target ideologies:
- they just aren't the brightest pixel on the jumbotron
- they often have a greater need for popularity than for the conveying of a grievance
- they attract 2 types of followers: those with rational deficiencies, those who hope to profit from the exercise
Have a great day. 
I'll get back to you.
