Freedom of Assembly

Americans United for Change

Click on an image to see how America excercises its right to assemble and organize.

The right to assemble allows people to gather for peaceful and lawful purposes. With  this comes the right to association and belief. The Supreme Court has ruled that  freedom of association and belief is implicit in the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. This right, however is limited to the right to associate for First Amendment purposes. It does not include a right of social association.

The government can also prohibit people from knowingly associating in groups that engage and promote illegal activities. The right to associate also prohibits the government from requiring a group to register or reveal its members or from denying government benefits  based on an individual's current or past membership in a particular group.

There are exceptions to this rule, where the  Supreme Court finds that governmental interests in disclosure/registration outweigh interference with first amendment rights. The government may also, generally, not force individuals to express themselves, hold certain beliefs, or belong to particular associations or groups.

          excerpt from Legal Information Institute

 

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