The First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996, 87 percent)

One of the most profoundly important aspects of the First Amendment is that it protects unpopular -- and offensive -- speech. Fans of good taste found much to dislike in the oeuvre of Hustler publisher Larry Flynt. However, when Evangelist Jerry Falwell saw a fake liquor ad in Flynt's skin mag that claimed the reverend had had a romantic entanglement with his mother in an outhouse, he sued for emotional distress. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that, being a public figure, Falwell could not claim to be distressed by what was an obvious parody. As Flynt (played by Woody Harrelson) succinctly puts it, "If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, it will protect all of you."

The Second Amendment: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Death Wish (1974, 74 percent)

Second Amendment proponents feel that guns in the hands of private citizens can prevent crime. Perhaps if Paul Kersey's (Charles Bronson) wife and daughter had a sidearm in the house when it was invaded by three street punks, they'd be alive and/or well. The ruthless attack takes its toll on Kersey, who becomes a well-regulated militia of one -- perhaps not what the framers had in mind, but an effective crime-fighting force nonetheless. However, legal scholars could successfully argue that one-man vigilante campaigns at very least violate the Sixth and Ninth Amendments.

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