Free Speech Watch|All civil liberties must be respected, even in times of national emergency, however, the Freedom of Speech afforded by the U.S. Constitution is arguably the most important. In these days of the so-called “Patriot Act” our free speech is constantly under serious attack. This website monitors the efforts to protect our free speech. It also monitors the People’s reaction to those efforts.

Although anti-federalist himself, Mason eventually helped convince the federalists (and especially James Madison) to adopt the similar United States Bill of Rights in 1791. The Virginia Declaration of Rights mentions freedom of the press, but not the broader freedom of speech as today. The right to bear arms is similar, and the freedom of religion passage (at the end) mentions the “Creator” and “Christian forbearance.” Mason is said to have been a bit of a curmudgeon. …

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