Supreme Court Vs. The 1st Amendment

During the video I was thinking about the corruption of the Supreme Court and how it can contradict the First Amendment. As we know, the First Amendment is made up of six clauses: Freedom from Religion, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Assembly, and Freedom to Protest. America was founded off of these values and prides itself as the most privileged and free country in the world. But with the decisions made by a committee of justices - how can everyone in America truly feel free? 

Over the past couple years, America has experienced many ups and downs. The Supreme Court has made life changing decisions that has affected many individuals and has upset many people. The Supreme Court is able to make changes to the law and overpower the President. Depending on the President at the time, the Supreme Court can be stacked making bias very common when it comes to legal decisions. Relating back to the First Amendment, there have been many cases and decisions that go against what the First Amendment stands for and that was the main thing that I was thinking about while we were watching. 

One example of the Supreme Court invalidating the First Amendment is the Does v. Mills Case. The Supreme Court was forcing a religious community in Maine to get the Covid-19 Vaccination even though it was against their beliefs. They strongly believed against the vaccine and were willing to fight the Supreme Court on it. A quote from The Network for Public Health Law stated in an article that. “The court reviewed the circumstances surrounding the law and its operation and found it to be neutral toward religion and generally applicable to all healthcare workers regardless of religious beliefs. Therefore, Maine only needed a rational basis for enacting the law, which the court found in the state’s interest in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The healthcare workers then sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, which was denied.” (Kim) The Supreme Court rejected the population in Maine's request to not get the vaccine which is violating their First Amendment. The Supreme Court did not let them follow their religious beliefs which goes against their Freedom of Religion. This case contradicts the entire message sent by the United States and being a free country. I was wondering during the video how many times can the Supreme Court violate the First Amendment and still have the respect that it needs from the people that it needs to function. 

“Does V. Mills.” Network for Public Health Law, 12 Nov. 2021, www.networkforphl.org/resources/does-v-mills/#:~:text=Overview,get%20vaccinated%20against%20COVID%2D19.