I never really put all that much thought into this until now, but I just read an article today, and saw in the comments section that apparently, huge numbers of Americans have no idea as to what First Amendment Rights actually protect them from.
http://news.yahoo.com/miss-america-dont-suspend-teen-over-prom-invite-182726984.html
Basically, some high school kid asked Miss America to Prom during an assembly or whatnot, was warned not to do it previously by the school, and ended up suspended as a result.
Personally, I think it's a bit of a stupid punishment, but I have no idea as to why masses of people are claiming this is a violation of First Amendment Rights.
If the kid was thrown into a police car and imprisoned for what he did, then yes, it would be violation of First Amendment Rights, but he wasn't. How is it that so many people have absolutely no idea what the First Amendment actually protects from?
Do they think that if you stood on a street corner and yelled a bunch of racial slurs, insults, and profanities about your boss, that your boss wouldn't be able to fire you or something?