Bill of Rights/10 commandments

 

Study: Few Americans Know 1st Amendment by ANNA JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
3/1/06

CHICAGO - Americans apparently know more about "The Simpsons" than they do about the First Amendment.

Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances.) But more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family, according to a survey.

The study by the new
McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms.

Joe Madeira, director of exhibitions at the museum, said he was surprised by the results.

"Part of the survey really shows there are misconceptions, and part of our mission is to clear up these misconceptions," said
Madeira, whose museum will be dedicated to helping visitors understand the First Amendment when it opens in April. "It means we have our job cut out for us."

The survey found more people could name the three "American Idol" judges than identify three First Amendment rights. They were also more likely to remember popular advertising slogans.

It also showed that people misidentified First Amendment rights. About one in five people thought the right to own a pet was protected, and 38 percent said they believed the right against self-incrimination contained in the Fifth Amendment was a First Amendment right, the survey found.

The telephone survey of 1,000 adults was conducted Jan. 20-22 by the research firm Synovate and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

 

Here are some links to important 10 commandment court decisions:

 

  1. McCreary v. ACLU

http://www.atheists.org/decisionday/McCrearyBRIEF.pdf

 

  1. Van Orden v Perry

      http://www.atheists.org/decisionday/VanOrdenBRIEF.pdf

 

And here are some articles related to those court decisions:

 

  1. House trying to block Constitution http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/tenco30.htm

 

  1. Rehnquist and the 10 Taboos

http://www.atheists.org/christianity/tencommandments.html

 

  1. Hang em’ all

http://www.atheists.org/christianity/hangemall.html

 

  1. Post the Commandments

http://www.americanatheist.org/columns/ontar5-28-01.html

 

Here is the Washington post article about the Supreme court split over the 10 commandments:

 

  1. Split Decision

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062700416.html

 

Some Landmark Bill of Rights Court Decisions:

 

  1. Griswold v Connecticut http://atheism.about.com/library/decisions/privacy/bldec_GriswoldConn.htm

 

  1. List of Landmark Cases, some of them recent

 

http://atheism.about.com/od/churchstatedecisions/

 

 

Here’s a list of cases and articles specific to free speech:

 

  1. Free speech v. Censorship

 http://atheism.about.com/library/decisions/indexes/bldec_SpeechIndex.htm

 

  1. Free speech v. Censorship, Article relating to Mohammad Cartoons and Free Speech http://www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2006/03/28/Viewpoints/All-Silence.Is.Not.Golden-1750648.shtml?norewrite200604191418&sourcedomain=www.tuftsdaily.com

 

 

Finally a list of the newest cases involving Religious Liberty:

 

  1. Supreme Court Decisions