Katie Porter: “Mr. Speaker, the first amendment to the Constitution, the supreme law of our land, proclaims that Congress shall make no…”

“Mr. Speaker, the first amendment to the Constitution, the supreme law of our land, proclaims that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. The principle of free speech in our Constitution is an absolute, without proviso or exception. The citizens of the newly freed Colonies had lived through the tyranny of a repressive government that censored the press and silenced those who would speak out to criticize it. They wanted to make certain no such government would arise in their new land of freedom. The first amendment, as with all ten amendments, was a specific limitation on the power of government. Throughout the 210-year history of the Constitution, not one word of the Bill of Rights has ever been altered. But the sponsors of this amendment today, for the first time in our Nation's history, would cut back on the first amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression. I submit that only the most dangerous of acts to the existence of our Nation could possibly be of sufficient importance to require us to qualify the principle of free speech which lies at the bedrock of our free society.”