Types of speech within the First Amendment - Assignment Example

Types of speech within the first amendment Some types of speech get clearly protected within the first amendment coverage while others get entitled to less protection and get excluded altogether. The first amendment to the US constitution provides freedom of expression from government interference and thus provides the freedom of speech as its most basic element (Jones, 2011). Not all speech gets provided with equal protection under the first amendment. Some forms of speech get provided with full protection, others with less protection, and others without protection altogether.

The courts identify three types of speech and each gets protected at different levels. There is pure speech, speech plus actions, and symbolic speech. Political speech receives the most protection through the first amendment (Jones, 2011). Political speech gets highly protected as it is vital to a functional republic due to its expressive nature. The first amendment also provides less than full protection to commercial speech. All speech is not equal within the first amendment. Several types of speech do not get protected by the first amendment (Cohen, 2010).

These limitations on free speech get recognized by the US Supreme Court and constitute exceptions to free speech within the country. These exceptions got created over time based on context and certain types of speech (Jones, 2011). The first amendment exempts speech that involves false statement of fact, incitement, child pornography, obscenity, and plagiarism from its protection. Defamation on the form of libel or slander also gets exempted from the protection of the first amendment. ReferencesCohen, H. (2010). Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment.

New York: DIANE Publishing.Jones, M. (2011). The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech, the Press, and Religion. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.