More than half of the respondents believe the press has too much freedom. Nearly one-third believe the First Amendment goes too far in the rights guarantees. Further, when responses in this survey are compared to the first State of the First Amendment survey conducted in 1997, a series of downward shifts in negative attitudes toward First Amendment freedoms becomes apparent. Significantly, even though First Amendment freedoms quickly came to mind when Americans were asked about important liberties, not one of the five freedoms was recognized by a majority of respondents as a specific right contained in the amendment. When it comes to specifics, however, support for free speech careens from one type of speech to another, depending on whether it is political, religious, artistic, racist, sexual, or commercial.
Attitudes also vary substantially within one type of speech, depending on the medium of expression.
A clear majority of the respondents disagreed with Supreme Court rulings that say that prayer in public schools must be initiated by students, not teachers and administrators. Two-thirds said they should be able to. As for one aspect of the freedom of assembly and association, court rulings have not been conclusive on whether teen curfews are a violation of the rights of young people. It is clear that there are some types of expression in some situations that most people just can't abide. It is also clear that there is a desire for civility and security so deep that significant numbers of people would consider trading some freedom for them.