ASSEMBLY
The congregation of a number of persons at the
same location.
Popularly-elected Political assemblies are
those mandated by the Constitution and laws,
such as the general assembly.
The lower, or more populous, arm of the leg-
islature in several states is also known as the
House of Assembly or the Assembly.
Under the FIRST AMENDMENT to the United
States Constitution, “Congress shall make no
law . . . abridging . . . the right of the people peace-
ably to assemble.” When a governmental unit
sets aside property for the public use, the prop-
erty is designed as a “public forum” for First
Amendment purposes, and the governmental
unit must properly allow the exercise by the
public of constitutional rights, including free-
dom of assembly. Examples of public forums
include sidewalks, parks, and libraries. The right
to assemble includes the right to protest,
although rights of assembly are generally bal-
anced with the need for public order. The
Supreme Court has held that local governments
may constitutionally require those participating
in public parades first to obtain a permit to do
so. However, the Court has held that an organ-
izer of a parade cannot constitutionally examine
the content of a message of a parade applicant in
determining whether to grant to parade permit.
Forsyth County, Ga. v. Nationalist Movement, 505
U.S. 123, 112 S. Ct. 2395, 120 L. Ed. 2d 101
(1992).
CROSS-REFERENCES
