<P> In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the Court drew on Thomas Jefferson's correspondence to call for "a wall of separation between church and State", though the precise boundary of this separation remains in dispute . Speech rights were expanded significantly in a series of 20th and 21st - century court decisions which protected various forms of political speech, anonymous speech, campaign financing, pornography, and school speech; these rulings also defined a series of exceptions to First Amendment protections . The Supreme Court overturned English common law precedent to increase the burden of proof for defamation and libel suits, most notably in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964). Commercial speech, however, is less protected by the First Amendment than political speech, and is therefore subject to greater regulation . </P> <P> The Free Press Clause protects publication of information and opinions, and applies to a wide variety of media . In Near v. Minnesota (1931) and New York Times v. United States (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protected against prior restraint--pre-publication censorship--in almost all cases . The Petition Clause protects the right to petition all branches and agencies of government for action . In addition to the right of assembly guaranteed by this clause, the Court has also ruled that the amendment implicitly protects freedom of association . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> In 1776, the second year of the American Revolutionary War, the Virginia colonial legislature passed a Declaration of Rights that included the sentence "The freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic Governments ." Eight of the other twelve states made similar pledges . However, these declarations were generally considered "mere admonitions to state legislatures", rather than enforceable provisions . </P>

Freedom of speech clause of the first amendment
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