The Right Not to Speak: Compelled Speech

The First Amendment protects not only the right to speak but also the right not to be forced to say something. In 1940, in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, the Supreme Court upheld expelling Jehovah's Witness children who refused, for religious reasons, to salute the flag. A wave of violence against Witnesses followed. Just three years later, in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the Court reversed itself.

Justice Robert Jackson wrote that no official can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism or religion, or force citizens to confess their faith in it. In Wooley v. Maynard in 1977, the Court ruled New Hampshire could not punish a driver for covering the state motto 'Live Free or Die' on his licence plate. In 303 Creative v. Elenis in 2023, the Court ruled that a web designer could not be compelled to create wedding websites conveying messages she disagreed with, a decision that remains debated.