Because this law could mean so much or so little, it held potential for causing great mischief in the world of art and politics. We needed to reduce its uncertainty, and the best way to do that, I believed, was to force a court to interpret it, which would either void or narrow the law. To make it as broad a target as possible and to assure that someone would sue us, I reproduced the Helms amendment verbatim in the terms and conditions for grant recipients. It could not be ignored there, and if it was to be declared unconstitutional, it had to appear where the courts could not ignore it either. . John Frohnmayer
About This Quote

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. This means that the government cannot control what people say, how they say it, who hears it, or when they say it. It says you can criticize religion, politics, or anything else without fear of punishment. It is one of the most important parts of our Constitution because it protects the rights of everyone to express themselves in any way they choose without fear of prosecution.

However, since its creation, this law has been fought over many times. One example would be its interpretation in McCarthyism where thousands were persecuted for simply holding unpopular views. However, this law is still widely respected today and even people who are against things like gay marriage still have full rights under this law.

Source: Leaving Town Alive

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More Quotes By John Frohnmayer
  1. The White House usually followed the seagull theory of management: fly in, squawk and flap and shit, and fly away.
  2. An apocryphal story recounts the dilhemma of a man during the Civil War who could not decide whether to join the Confederate or Union forces. Finally he put on a gray coat and blue pants, and both sides shot him.
  3. Because this law could mean so much or so little, it held potential for causing great mischief in the world of art and politics. We needed to reduce its uncertainty, and the best way to do that, I believed, was to force a court to...
  4. During my tenure at the Endowment, I often found that those who did us the most damage did so under the justification of helping us by 'preventing worse language.' In the military it would be called friendly fire. One ends up just as dead.
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