May 1st is Law Day in the United States and will be celebrated in Bellingham with educational sessions for 8th grade students from Whatcom and Fairhaven Middle Schools.
The Law Day theme for 2019 is “Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society”. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects some of our most important freedoms:
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 to peaceably assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Thomas Jefferson insisted, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press and that cannot be limited or lost.” James Madison reported, “To the press alone, checkered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and suppression.”
Law Day is an annual commemoration first held in 1957 when the American Bar Association dedicated a special national day to mark our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Law Day proclamation in 1958. Law Day was then made official in 1961 when Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1st as the official date for celebrating Law Day.
