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Assembly, Pluralism, and Identity

Document Type

Book Section

Language

English (en)

Publication Date

2024

Publication Title

The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Assembly

Abstract

The right of assembly is often viewed as a protection for expressive events like protests and demonstrations. Its scope, however, extends well beyond the gathering itself to the group that precedes the gathering. In fact, Article 20(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes a singular ‘right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association’. This chapter argues that the connection between assembly and association is crucial to establishing the importance of assembly to pluralism and identity. It also criticizes US constitutional law for obscuring this connection. Protections for groups in the United States fall under a largely undeveloped right of association; meanwhile, protests are governed almost exclusively by free speech law. But severing the expressive gathering from the group that precedes the gathering ignores the interconnectedness between gathering and group, particularly when it comes to notions of pluralism and identity. While current US law sees gatherings principally as speech and groups principally as associations, a more robust understanding of gathering and group suggests that both properly fall within the right of assembly.

Keywords

First Amendment, Right of Assembly, Right of Association, Pluralism, Identity

Publication Citation

John Inazu, Assembly, Pluralism, and Identity, in The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Assembly (Tabitha Abu El-Haj et al. eds., 2024 ed. 2024)

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