Читать книгу Keeping the Republic - Christine Barbour - Страница 143

Closely related to symbolic speech is an additional First Amendment guarantee, freedom of assembly, or “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The courts have interpreted this provision to mean not only that people can meet and express their views collectively, but also that their very association is protected as a form of political expression. So, for instance, they have ruled that associations like the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) cannot be required to make their membership lists public³⁸ (although groups deemed to have unlawful purposes do not have such protection) and that teachers do not have to reveal the associations to which they belong.³⁹ In addition, the Court has basically upheld people’s right to associate with whom they please, although it held that public⁴⁰ and, in some circumstances, private groups cannot discriminate on the basis of race or sex.⁴¹

freedom of assembly the right of the people to gather peacefully and to petition government