Freedom of speech is the ability to voice your opinion without government censorship or restriction. As stated in the book “Freedom of Speech”, “The U.S. government cannot pass …show more content…
For example, in the Supreme Court case of Tinker v. Des Moines, 3 students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The principal said that the students were prohibited from doing so and suspended them. The students then sued the school district because they claim that their 1st Amendment was violated by the school. The Supreme Court ruled that students’ have the right to freedom of speech and the right to expression. It was also stated that students do not lose their right to freedom of speech when they come on school property, but that the full extent of the right is not guaranteed. The court said that in order to justify the censorship speech school officials must prove that the subject of matter “materially and substantially interferes” with the education of the other students (Tinker v. Des Moines). In another court case, Dariano v. Morgan Hill Unified School District, a number of white students showed up at school wearing American flag shirts. While this usually would not cause a problem, they wore the shirts during the school’s annual Cinco de Mayo celebration, so several Mexican students complained to the administration and stated that they were worried that the shirts may cause a fight between the students. So in concern for their safety, the administration told the students wearing the American flag shirts to turn them inside out so that the flag would not be visible. When the students declined to do so, they were sent home. The students that were sent home filed a lawsuit claiming that their right to freedom of expression, and rights to equal protection and due process had been violated, similar to what the other students had done in Tinker