The First Amendment in Relation to the Rights of the LGBTQ+ Community

The First Amendment condones and guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.

It forbids the government from promoting one religion over the other as well as forbids restricting anyone’s religious practices.

However, it is a common misconception that the First Amendment promises that you can say whatever you want without facing any repercussions or being censored.

The First Amendment simply states the government cannot take any action that interferes with those rights. 

For example, a social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter has the right to censor any posts or remove any accounts that do not comply with the guidelines that the company has put in place.

They completely have the right to do that. 

If someone feels like they are censored online, they should post their content on sites that have guidelines in place that support whatever it is they want to post. 

Because it is Pride Month, I decided to do some research on the relationship between LGBTQ+ Rights, and the First Amendment.

I found a very interesting article that explains how the First Amendment has been used in support of abolishing any policies that are harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.

In summary, the article explained that courts have held that “coming out” to an employer is speech.

Therefore, the action of doing so is protected under the First Amendment.

The First Amendment is also one of the biggest arguments used in combating federal policies that impair the rights of LGBTQ+ people. 

“In particular, the First Amendment’s guarantee of the freedom of speech protects the rights of LGBT people to speak and express themselves openly in ways consistent with their identities.

Courts have increasingly applied this principle to government laws and regulations that directly target certain behavior or that have the effect of stifling

or discouraging identity-affirming speech or expression.” (LGBT Rights and the Free Speech Clause) 

Here is the link to the article! LGBT Rights and the Free Speech Clause