United States Constitution: Amendment 1. Assembly & Petition

John Lewis, Civil Rights Advocate
Public Domain
 

FREEDOM TO PEACEABLY ASSEMBLE

Limits

• Organizations, or its members, undertaking illegal activities are not protected.
• Assemblies such as marches may require:
  • A parade permit
  • Limit the march to a certain route at a specified time.
• Can be denied if it interferes with the function of a public building, such as a jail.
• Does not extend to private property unless the state has specified that it does.
  • Private Property: "Property owned by private parties - essentially anyone or anything other than the government.  Private property may consist of real estate, buildings, objects, intellectual property (for example, copyrights or patents )." Legal Information Institute.
  • Public Property: "Property owned by the government (or its agency), rather than by a private individual." Legal Information Institute. 

Freedom of Assembly Rulings

• Def Fonge v Oregon (1937): Freedom of assembly in the 1st Amendment applied to the States.
• Hague v CIO (1939): Governmental regulations cannot deny freedom of assembly.
• Thornhill v Alabama (1940): A State cannot outlaw peaceful picketing.
• Feiner v New York (1951). Inciting a crowd to violence is not protected by the 1st Amendment.
• NAACP V Patterson (1958): A legal organization does not have to turn over its membership list to the state.
• Communist Party v. Catherwood (1961) Communist Control Act of 1954 outlawed the Communist Party in the United States. That did not bar the party from participating in New York's unemployment insurance system.
• Gregory v City of Chicago (1969). Peaceful protest marchers are protected by the 1st Amendment. They are not responsible when spectators turn angry and violent.
• Blawis v. Bolin (1973): An Arizona Federal Court declared the Communist Control Act of 1954 unconstitutional.
• Lloyd Corporation v Tanner (1972): 1st Amendment apply to a private property owner.
• Prune Yard Shopping Center v Robins (1980): 1st Amendment applies to private property owner if it is so stated in the State Constitution.
• Boy Scouts of America v Dale (2000): A private organization can exclude a person from membership if they are advocating a different set of values.

• 1886. McCormick Reaper Works Protest in Chicago.
• 1932. The Bonus March.
• 1963. Civil Rights March on Washington.
• 1965. Selma to Montgomery March.
• 1967. Anti-war protesters march on the Pentagon.
• 1970. First Earth Day.
• 1993. The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation.
• 2014. The People's Climate March.
• 2017. Women's March on Washington.
• 2018. The March for Our Lives Against Gun Violence.
• 2020. Black Lives Matter March on Washington.

Rachel Carson, Environmental Advocate
Official photo as FWS employee. c.1940
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

FREEDOM TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT

• The Courts consider petitioning the Government to include three1st Amendment rights:
  • Freedom of Speech
  • Freedom of Association
  • Freedom to Petition

Ways to Petition the Government

• Protests.
• Lawsuit: If the Government waives immunity.
• Boycott: Missouri v National Organization of Women (1980)
• Lobbying (or advocacy) is defined as "an attempt to influence government action through either written or oral communication." National Conference of State Legislatures.

• AARP, advocates for senior citizens.
• American Bar Association, advocates for the legal profession.
• American Cancer Society, advocates for cancer research.
• American Library Association, advocates for libraries.
• American Medical Association, advocates for healthcare and physicians.
• Common Cause, non-partisan watchdog, advocating for good government.
• League of Women Voters, advocates for voter participation and citizen involvement.
• NAACP, advocates for Civil Rights.
• Nature Conservancy, advocates for the environment
• The Sierra Club, advocates for the environment.
• United States Chamber of Commerce, advocates for the interest of business.

Each member of the U.S. Congress receives hundreds, if not thousands, of requests from constituents in their districts and states annually. These requests include help with the Federal Government bureaucracy, concerns about issues, and grievances about a variety of things. Each member's office has at least one person for constituent services to attend to these requests. In addition, hundreds of advocacy groups are lobbying them on a variety of issues. As of April 30, 2021, the following issues were the top ten most popular.

1. Federal Budget & Appropriations
2. Health Issues
3. Taxes
4. Transportation
5. Defense
6. Trade
7. Medicare & Medicaid
8. Energy & Nuclear Power
9. Environment & Superfund
10. Education

Source: Open Secrets: Center for Responsive Politics