Obsceniczność w świetle I poprawki do Konstytucji USA

In the United States, the cradle of civil rights and modern democracy, the freedom of expression is guaranteed in the First Amendment to American Constitution (Bill of Rights), enacted in 1789 (came into force in 1791). On its virtue, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of […] the freedom of speech, or of the press […]”. Although the record suggested that this freedom is absolute (not restricted of any legislation), the later jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court (by case law) isolated categories of utterances that have not been contained by the First Amendment. The essential issues are answers on the following questions: in the name of what values Congress can limit the First Amendment? And where is the border of freedom of speech? One of the expressions that is not protected by the law is obscenity. The term (in Latin obscenus, meaning foul, repulsive, detestable) describes all categories of expressions that profane the standard of sexual morality, that is commonly in force in present time. Obscenity is defined differently in cultures and societies. It is extremely difficult to find the border between art and pornography (e.g. Michelangelo’s David can be an example). What for one is full accepted in art, for others can be recognized as abusive (especially when it is concerned to religion feelings). The role of the government is to take common definition that reflects social consensus in the subject: on the one hand to guarantee the right to freedom of speech, on the other hand to protect citizens from the obscenity matters that are not accepted by them because they flout their customs. American understanding of the obscenity has been changed with the evolution of the social sense of decency. Creating common definition was not easy because general concept could encroach the right to the First Amendment. Subjects that for some readers could cause sexual association and excite them, not necessarily cause similar feelings in other ones. The aim of this analyze is to introduce the history of the debate about obscenity in United States.