The Death of the First Amendment—How the GOP’s Hypocrisy is Shredding American Freedoms
By: The Zeitgeist Editorial Team
Photo Credit: Screenshot from C-SPAN video. Source: C-SPAN.
Conservative lawmakers sure love to preach about the sacredness of the Second Amendment, right? Guns, they say, are the linchpin of freedom. "We must defend the Second Amendment at all costs!" they'll shout until they're red in the face, all while openly mocking the importance of the First Amendment. The hypocrisy here is staggering, laughable even—if it weren’t so goddamn terrifying.
This double standard has never been clearer than when a group of 82 conservative lawmakers filed a 42-page Supreme Court brief—backed by none other than the far-right Christian fundamentalist American Family Association—urging for a nationwide ban on gender-affirming care. Let’s be real, it’s not even a subtle move. These zealots threw out the Constitution and instead invoked the Bible—you know, that handy little piece of scripture that definitely wasn’t one of the foundational texts the Founding Fathers referenced. This isn’t about “protecting children”; it’s about forcing Christian supremacy down the throats of anyone who doesn’t toe their narrow ideological line.
Defending the Second, Smashing the First
The GOP’s worship of the Second Amendment is almost cult-like. They’ll defend anyone’s right to amass enough firepower to equip a small nation, even if that person has the reasoning skills of a potato. But when it comes to the First Amendment? Suddenly, these "constitutional originalists" want to carve out exceptions and implement restrictions faster than you can say, “Hallelujah.” Freedom of speech? Freedom of religion? Freedom from religion? Forget it. They’re all fair game to be bent, rewritten, and outright violated if it serves their purposes.
What’s that? The Founders wanted a wall between church and state? Nah, not for this crowd. Instead, they’ve been chiseling away at that wall for decades. Take the case of United States v. Skrmetti—they’re waving their Bible around, claiming it should be the legal standard for a nation of over 330 million people, many of whom aren’t even Christian. They openly advocate stripping away gender-affirming care for trans kids, using arguments based on “self-control” and “God’s plan” instead of actual science. And when confronted, their only answer is to scream louder about protecting the Constitution.
Protecting the Constitution? You’ve gotta be kidding me. The only part of the Constitution they seem interested in “protecting” is the Second Amendment—maybe sprinkle in a little Tenth if it means stripping away federal power to stop them from turning their states into hellish theocracies.
Oh, But the Children!
The same GOP lawmakers who gush about “freedom” want to force trans kids to de-transition, regardless of the catastrophic mental health consequences. Why? Because they’re clinging to their precious “biblical values” as if they were some kind of get-out-of-jail-free card for violating civil rights. This is the First Amendment they’re trampling on, folks. The amendment that guarantees your right to think, speak, and believe whatever the hell you want. The amendment that prevents the government from imposing any religion on us. Instead, they’re weaponizing it to make America conform to their narrow, toxic version of Christianity.
Their brief doesn’t hide it either. It opens by calling trans advocacy “identity politics,” while waving the Bible around as if it’s a valid legal document. This isn’t just some backwater debate in a state legislature—it’s a Supreme Court case. If they get their way, they’ll codify the right to legally discriminate against trans youth. No freedom of speech, no freedom of religion—just Christian dogma dressed up as public policy.
Meanwhile, They’re Funding Religious Schools
If this blatant abuse of power isn’t making you rage-quit society yet, then buckle up, because Indiana’s been quietly perfecting this game for years. They’ve shoveled almost half a billion dollars in taxpayer money into religious private schools through their voucher program—all while gutting public school funding. Schools like Roncalli High School, which infamously fired a guidance counselor just for being in a same-sex marriage, are raking in state money like it’s going out of style. And guess what? There’s no accountability, no oversight, and certainly no requirement for these schools to uphold the First Amendment rights of their students.
But hey, why stop there? The Indiana GOP doesn’t just condone discrimination—they bankroll it. Private schools can legally discriminate against LGBTQ+ students or staff and still collect millions in state funding. They’ve turned the voucher system into a weapon to funnel public dollars to their preferred religious institutions, eroding any pretense of separation between church and state. Meanwhile, public schools—obligated to educate everyone—are left to fight for scraps.
What’s Next?
What’s next? Probably more of the same bullshit: more taxpayer-funded indoctrination, more attacks on civil liberties, and more bending the Constitution until it snaps. It’s not enough for them to make sure you can buy an assault rifle faster than you can get a pack of Sudafed; they want to make sure you’re legally barred from questioning their authority too. Don’t think this stops with trans rights. The same GOP that demands absolute reverence for the Second Amendment has a laundry list of First Amendment rights they’d love to gut—freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion (unless it’s theirs). After all, why would they want a society where people can actually express their own identities, beliefs, or even sexual orientation? That would be too free.
So here’s the big question: How much longer are we going to put up with this? They’re coming for the First Amendment, and they’re armed with the Bible in one hand and a glock in the other. This is a war on civil liberties, and the First Amendment is bleeding out on the battlefield.
They want the Second Amendment strong and the First Amendment broken. And if we keep letting these hypocrites make the rules, we’ll wake up one day to find that “freedom” is just another word for Christian nationalism.
—The Zeitgeist
Bibliography
Schneider, Chelsea, and Wang, Stephanie. "How Taxpayers Pay for Religious Education." IndyStar. March 30, 2017. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2017/03/30/how-taxpayers-pay-religious-education/97872320/.
Meckler, Laura, and Boorstein, Michelle. "Billions in Taxpayer Dollars Now Go to Religious Schools via Vouchers." Washington Post. June 3, 2024. Archived at https://archive.ph/i4X27#selection-575.0-2567.11.
Weddle, Eric. "Indiana’s School Vouchers Hit Record with 70,000 Students, Nearly Half-Billion Dollar Cost." WFYI. September 12, 2024. https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/indiana-school-vouchers-choice-scholarship-2024-largest-ever-half-billion.
Lazine, Mira. "82 GOP Lawmakers Cite Bible in Supreme Court Brief Against Gender-Affirming Care." LGBTQ Nation. October 10, 2024. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/10/82-gop-lawmakers-cite-bible-in-supreme-court-brief-against-gender-affirming-care/.