Source: The New York Times, June 22, 2016

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/nyregion/muslim-officer-sues-new-york-police-dept-over-no-beard-policy.html?ref=topics

       The 1st Amendment protects the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition of the citizens living in the United States. The government states that one religion can not be in favor over the other. This principle supports the freedom of the people and their beliefs of teaching, learning, practicing, worship, and observance of their own religion. Religion is a huge topic now due to the current events happening in the United States.
       This amendment was clearly violated when a Muslim officer named Masood Syed decided to take action after having his rights violated. The 32 year old was suspended during the fasting month for refusing to shave his one inch beard, ordered by the New York Police Department. They stated that it is necessary due to the recent discrimination here in America. Back in 2006, he was an exception for the no-beard policy and was even allowed to wear it in a photo for his identification picture. 
       This violation can lead to angry mobs which will most likely lead to violence and arrests. These conflicts can be avoided only if people did not go against the Fist Amendment. We should be allowed to practice our own religions as long as if it does not harm others. In this case, it did not affect anyone; instead, the department looked at how citizens would react to Syed's appearance. 

#ourfreedom
#nodiscrimination

Source: The New York Times, September 15, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/sports/jemele-hill-espn.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FFreedom%20of%20Speech%20and%20Expression&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

       One of the rights that the 1st Amendment grants US citizens is freedom of speech. This allows us to express our personal opinions without restraint. In other words, people are not punished for speaking their beliefs. Unfortunately, these rights are still being violated to the present day.
       For example, Jemele Hill, a host of the ESPN sports program, tweeted some comments about President Trump which created a controversy on whether or not she gets disciplined. James Bhandary-Alexander stated," Jemele Hill was speaking about an important issue of public concern, one of the most crucial issues of current political life, and the statute was intended to protect people who say things just like what she said". This emphasizes how hypocritical these issues can be. We are granted these rights yet are accused of saying "inappropriate statements" or being "provocative". 
       Although Jamele is a public figure, she is a citizen of the United States and deserves to state her own opinions whether it is public or private. On top of that, many people post their opinions of Trump on social media yet do not get disciplined from it. Stating opinions on television may lead to many conflicts but it does not mean that these rights should be violated. 

#JusticeForJamele
#UnfairTreatment

Source: The New York Times, September 6, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/business/media/tom-price-journalist-arrest.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FFreedom%20of%20The%20Press&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection

       Freedom of the Press grants the right to publish articles, magazines, tweets, and more without prohibition by the government. Many people take offense to the things that are publicly posted even though we have the right to this freedom. These situations generally get out of hand. 
       According to the article linked above, a journalist was arrested due to questioning health secretary, Tom Price. After spending six months in jail, he was finally released and not prosecuted, though was charged with misdemeanor. Journalist Dan Heyman's rights were violated because he was punished for an action that was not against the law. 
       Now that social media has grown to be an everyday use, topics can become over exaggerated. Many arguments begin to form when someone disagrees with a statement. In this case, these published readings are mainly for entertainment or updates. 

#ViolatingOurRights
#WeDeserveJustice

Source: The Nation, June 6, 2017

https://www.thenation.com/article/americas-freedom-protest-attack/

       People in the United States are allowed to form nonviolent protests to express and defend their ideas. Petitions are also allowed as long as if it remains peaceful. Some of these cases may be contradicting. 
       For example, the Ku Klux Klan group may lead a protest but this discrimination would be violating human rights as well. This article mentions the Black Lives Matter Movement, which did not get violent until police officers began arresting these nonviolent protesters. This action was very unnecessary and was a huge violation to human rights such as racism. These police officers are also abusing their powers because these violent actions are random and irrelevant. 
       People in the present day revolve around racism and blame black citizens for aggressive behavior. In reality, police officers are the ones to initiate the violence and these peaceful protesters are simply defending themselves in some situations. These rights are violated because the First Amendment does state that peaceful protests are allowed yet things are taken out of context. Another current event is how Mexicans are treated unfairly due to President Trumps accusations saying every Mexican is a drug dealer and rapist. These accusations violate our freedom of assembly because this specific group of people is only trying to protest to fight for their rights but they are brought down and looked down upon as well. 
#StopRacism
#PeacefulProtests