Our interpretation of the First Amendment has undeniably changed a lot over the centuries. The Sedition Act, also in 1798, sent someone to jail for calling the President “not only a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, and an unprincipled oppressor, but…in private life, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent.” Such a prosecution would be a non-starter today.
It’s sad that the Second Amendment seems to be frozen in time, for now.
Our interpretation of the First Amendment has undeniably changed a lot over the centuries. The Sedition Act, also in 1798, sent someone to jail for calling the President “not only a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, and an unprincipled oppressor, but…in private life, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent.” Such a prosecution would be a non-starter today.
It’s sad that the Second Amendment seems to be frozen in time, for now.