NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Americans' confidence in the First Amendment, which fell after the attacks of 9/11, is up again, according to a new survey.
The First Amendment Center of Nashville, Tenn., has released its 2004 survey results on the “State of the First Amendment,” which suggests Americans' concern for protecting freedoms is at levels not seen since before Sept. 11, 2001.
The survey, conducted in conjunction with the American Journalism Review, showed that when asked whether the First Amendment goes too far in the protections it guarantees, 65 percent said it did not, up from 49 percent of those polled in 2002.
“Despite the ongoing war on terrorism worldwide and regular warnings from authorities about domestic attacks, a significant majority of Americans continue to support a free and open society,” said Gene Policinski, acting director of the First Amendment Center, according to the Associated Press.
A majority of the 1,000 people polled said religiously offensive speech should be allowed, but racially offensive speech and patently offensive music should not be protected.
Paul McMasters, Freedom Forum First Amendment ombudsman, published a commentary on the findings, saying there is a “troubling disconnect between principle and practice when it comes to First Amendment rights and values. Americans in significant numbers appear willing to regulate the speech of those they don't like, don't agree with or find offensive.”
When asked to list specific rights guaranteed under the First Amendment, only 17 percent of those polled named freedom of religion, a slight decline from previous years. Other freedoms named less frequently were freedom of the press, assembly and petition.
McMasters wrote that one goal when beginning the survey was to see where education on the subject of the First Amendment was needed. “The educational challenge is great,” he wrote.
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