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Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay COURSE TITLE COURSE CODE NAME PROFESSOR’S NAME DATE OF SUBMISSION 1 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay Abstract The freedom of expression and sexuality has always been a major issue in the country, with everyone having his/her own side of the story. This paper therefore tries to look at the validity of the law in regards to the two and to see whether our laws are legitimate, valid and of they encompass the current trends or not. It also seeks to determine on what changes we can make to the existing laws on the freedom of expression and sexuality. Introduction The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), (both of which the United states belong) state that individuals have a right to freedom of expression and the right includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds. Our country the united states of America protects this law and through its first amendment of her constitution. The United States safeguards this right through the constitution which provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The constitution protects the most offensive and controversial speech from suppression by the government, and it permits regulation of speech only under certain limited and narrow circumstances. 2 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay The state believes that offensive and controversial speech can only be countered by more speech. It allows citizens to openly discuss topics of public concerns and to give their views on the government. In matters of sexuality, the USA government has been a very liberal government in that it accommodates the demands of the people( it gives them what they want). This is clearly seen in the inclusion of same sex marriages and advocating for the rights of the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). As of 26th June 2015, all the states licensed and recognized marriage between same-sex couples on account of the decision of the Supreme Court. There are some issues however in both of these that do not seem to be addressed and this is the basis of my thesis i.e. to address the pertinent issues that come with these laws and determine the credibility of the current laws. DISCUSSION The freedom of expression Taking into account the freedom of expression which states that individuals have the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds. There are some forms of information that are not acceptable by the society. This include incitement to murder, sale of pornographic literature to children, acceptance of open hate speech messages towards one another and any form of information that would seek to disrupt the peace and serenity that exists in the country such as those that advocate for violence and defamation Even though the constitution is very clear on these, personally I feel that the law still is so open and wide on the limits to which this freedom can be expressed. There are some 3 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay circumstances in which the freedom has been grossly abused but the victim says that they were exercising their freedom of expression. A case example in particular is during cases of industrial action when the rioting group decides to break into a person’s shop and loot all of the belongings of that person, even though industrial action is included in the law, the law does not allow one to destroy other people’s property in the course of industrial action. Doing this is a breach of the freedom of expression and is going contrary to what the law demands. The law also is wide in allowing some forms of speech that the society does not accept. Take a look at this "The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed the notion that unpopular speech enjoys full First Amendment protection. As the late Justice William Brennan put it, in a case involving flag burning, 'If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.'(Melissa Beattie-Moss January 27, 2015) If the society finds an idea to be unacceptable, then there does not seem to be any need of the law accepting yet it is unlawful to the society. The laws are there to govern the society, they are there to make the society live, the laws exist because the society exists and so if there are laws that go against the societies wishes then they should be scraped off. The freedom of expression therefore goes against some of the societal values and thus it doesn’t look fit to be upheld in full. Speaking of the freedom of expression, religion also sets in. and since everyone has the freedom to express him/herself, he also has the freedom to express his/ her vies concerning religion. Most of the people speak ill of religion with even showing acts of blasphemy yet the law permits such likes. However in the first place, America is a religious country, a country which was founded as a result of it being a haven for those fleeing from religious wars in other parts of the world. Because of this, America has continued toe view God as its symbol of growth 4 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay and prosperity. Blasphemy goes against what God needs form human beings since the sole duty of human beings is to worship none other than Him. When human beings exercise their freedom of expression and speak ill about God, some claiming to be Him and some saying that He does not exist, they go contrary to their creator. However since it is part of their right and freedom, they can’t be charged since they are exercising their rights. This does not look to be acceptable and because of this, the freedom of expression doesn’t look fit to be upheld in full. The freedom of expression gives the citizens the right to criticize the government at will. Even though some of the critics are legitimate and some help the government be in check, most of them are always out of selfish ideas and are being propagated by people who have their own personal interests. Most of the critics are from those in the opposition or those with interest in vying for the various government posts come the general elections. They see the best way to put down those in charge is to speak ill about them claiming that they are exercising their freedom. And because the law persists the freedom of expression and it does not state to what extent a person can speak ill about the government, most of these people go scot free without being charged in court and even if charged in court, the law speaks for them and they are let free yet respect to those in authority should always be paramount. Citing this, it looks like the law has some loopholes and it should therefore not be held as it is. From the above issue in freedom of expression, it is clear that if the law is vague, it is prone to abuse. And since the law does not go at par with some of the societal norms, it looks vague and that’s why it is always abused unknowingly. 5 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay Sexuality Sexuality is defined as a person’s sexual feelings, a person’s sexual orientation or preference. Sexual orientation is that feeling of sexual and romantic attraction to another human being. Previously the attraction was of the opposite sex but in the changing fortunes of time, there has risen same sex romantic attractions thus giving rise to gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Sexual orientation is different from other aspects of sex and gender, such as biological sex (which is the anatomical, physiological, and genetic characteristics linked with being male or female), gender identity (the psychological attribute of being male or female), and social gender role ( which are the cultural norms that define feminine and masculine behavior). The United States laws on sexuality include i. The sexual harassment law ii. The LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights. iii. Sexual assault laws i. The sexual harassment law The sexual harassment law states that it is unlawful to harass a person sexually because of that person’s sex. Harassment includes unwelcome advances, request for sexual favors, physical or verbal harassment which are sexual in nature when this interferes with the individual performance level. Any of these goes against Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law however does not prohibit teasing, isolated incidents that are not very serious or offhand comments. This makes the law lack some clarity because in the term not very serious, there is no explanation as to how serious. The level of seriousness varies with a person’s perception of the 6 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay other. Close friends who are fond of each other may engage in some activities which in real sense would sound a form of sexual harassment yet they would go free because they are used each other. A stranger on the other hand will try such a thing to a person and that would prove to be a very serious case of sexual harassment. Going by the openness of the definition of what would warrant to be sexual harassment and also going by the fact that it is in a person’s wish to report or not to report cases of sexual harassment, the law does not seem credible enough and so it should be changed. ii. The LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights. Speaking about the LGBT law, let’s look at a brief history of how the issue has been progressing form the past When George Washington was president, Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin, was brought in trial for attempting sodomy, he was drummed out of the military. On 27th February, 1801, Virginia effected a penalty of 1-10 years for free people found committing sodomy and death penalty for slaves doing the same. Thomas Jefferson in 1779 wrote a law which called for castration of men who were engaging in sodomy. Under Harry Truman in 1948, the congress brought into place the sodomy law in Columbia. This established a punishment of up to 10 years in custody if found guilty of sodomy. President Richard Nixon himself said he would not shake hands with gays and homosexuals. He said that promoting same sex relationships is what led to the fall of the ancient Greece. From this, we can see that our founders were against an existence of such a law, they were openly against the issue of same sex relationships. The fighting and advocating for the same sex relationships rights started to spike under president Bill Clinton who is credited by Richard Socarides as the first president to publicly 7 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay champion for gay rights. Clinton also declared the month of June to be gay and lesbian pride month on 2nd June 2000. On June 26 2003, sexual activity between two adults of the same sex who have agreed was considered legal nationwide and since then, the laws have been amended until now our constitution provides for the rights of the LGBT whereby it’s a legal activity, their relationships are recognized by the state, they are allowed to serve in the military and they are also allowed to adopt children. The issue has now been legal and acceptable issue. Going by these, and by what the founders of our country wanted the country to be, it’s clear that the laws have gone against their wish. Right from George Washington down to other like Richard Nixon and Harry Truman, they never advocated for that issue and if we are to go along their way, if we are to live according to their paths, then the issue of LGBT rights is nothing to go by. May be we may argue that at that time the world was still back, industrialization had not set in, people never understood much about the human being and that civilization was still taking root, however we need to know that the older ways are the best ways, the way that was towed by our fathers is the best way to go. Also going by the fact that America was founded under a strict religious background, it would suffice to say that God in his initial plan for manhood was against such an issue of same sex relationships no wonder he made woman for man. Taking into account all these, I argue that the law should be amended. As of 2014, the following states i.e. Alabama, Arizona. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina South Carolina, Oklahoma Texas and Utah were against the against the gay laws. This shows that not everyone in the country is happy with the laws and thereafter the law should be changed for a law is good if it serves almost all the people under it. 8 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay iv. Sexual assault laws Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under this are forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling and attempted rape (The united states department of justice) These laws are good in that they protect the vulnerable i.e. the females and children against acts of sexual exploitation. The laws should therefore be upheld. The only problem is in the reporting of such acts, very few of them reach the hands of the law keepers and this make the law not to be effected in full. CONCLUSION. From the above article, it is evident that our laws on freedom of expression and sexuality need to be amended. The law on freedom of expression give people, the rights that they actually need thus making it prone to abuse. It also lets the people infringe on others rights thus benefiting at the expense of other which is not right according to the law. The law should also go in line with the society acting in congruence. Religion is such a sacred issue and the freedom of expression should not give a person the chance to speak evil about the religion. Even though it helps people to exercise their rights, there should be a limit as to which extent they are to go and the law should be clear on this. On matters of sexuality, the law looks to have been so much lenient on what it requires, the people seem to have tolerated what was abhorred in the past and this looks like a 9 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay disregard to the human principles. If the previous leaders of the nation were against such laws then it does not seem fit to uphold them as at now. The law on sexual harassment and sexual assault is good, the law keepers should therefore ensure that they are followed to the letter, prompt reporting of those who are found to be violating the laws should be done and they should be prosecuted as per the law. Because of these, it therefore looks like the laws on freedom of expression and sexuality don’t highlight much of what the society expects, don’t go in line with what the society needs and therefore should be amended as per my recommendations. RECCOMENDATIONS The following are my recommendation for the law on freedom of expression and sexuality 1) The government should properly define the coverage of the freedom of expression. 2) Inappropriate words concerning religion should be liable to punishment and the law should include that 3) The law should go in congruence with the societal norms and what the society and every clause in the law that goes against the societal view should be scraped off 4) The laws on LGBT should be reviewed with sobriety and if possible we should live according to the desires of the founders of the nation 5) Anyone found violating the laws of freedom of expression should be convicted without trial so as to act as a strong example to the others. 10 Freedom of Expression and Sexuality essay REFERENCES Magee, James J. Freedom of expression. greenwood Publishing group, 2002. Emerson, Thomas I. "Freedom of Association and Freedom of Expression." The Yale Law Journal 74.1 (1964): 1-35. Simon, William, and John Gagnon. Sexual conduct: The social sources of human sexuality Transaction publishers, 2011. Simon, William, and John Gagnon. Sexual conduct: The social sources of human sexuality. Transaction publishers, 2011. Bancroft, John. Human sexuality and its problems. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2009. ABOUT AMERICA: THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with Explanatory Notes adapted from THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA (c) 2004 World Book, Inc pdf Exploring Constitutional Conflicts, The Gay Rights Controversy Roger Pilon THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION: From Limited Government to Leviathan American Institute for Economic Research 2005 Peter Nicolas Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Constitution., Carolina Academic Press 2013 Freedom of Expression in the United States, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS, April 2013 11
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