The Vision of Citizens For Free Speech is to restore and defend the art of peaceful, intelligent and productive communication through local action.

"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." - First Amendment, U.S. Constitution

Our Mission

CFFS promotes successful local activism by showing its members how to effectively communicate and exercise their First Amendment rights in every public or private situation. We mobilize our members to achieve success in their local communities by giving them tools, strategies, training and encouragement to restore civility in the civic arena and to teach others to do the same.

Background

The U.S. Constitution is the foundational document of the United States of America that was created after a bloody and successful revolution against England. Many of the specific grievances held by early Americans are seen in the First Amendment: Freedom from government-mandated and sponsored religion, freedom of personal speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceable assembly and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. It is not surprising that the first thing blurted out by founding fathers was "Congress shall make no law..." to nullify these precious rights that were viewed as essential to a free society. 

However, John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence and second President of the United States warned, "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."*

With the steep decline of morality and religious virtue in America since the early 1960s, the Constitution as a whole is under unprecedented attack, but no more so than the First Amendment in particular. Today, as the First Amendment is twisted, misused and misinterpreted, its original intent is completely obscured. 

The only path to reclaiming the high meaning of the First Amendment is for men and women of moral and religious integrity to assert their influence in their local communities by actually doing it. In other words, the First Amendment is actualized only to the extent that it is practiced. 

* John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. 1854), Vol. IX, p. 229, October 11, 1798.

Why CFFS?

CFFS is the only organization that reaches out directly to citizens to give hands-on, how-to training in the actual exercise of the First Amendment. Although litigation is important, it is critical to understand that no amount of legal proceedings will ever solve the dilemma presented above.

Our personal communication training material has already been tested and proven in local workshops throughout the western United States. We work in collaboration with experienced, top-tier activists who have already developed successful strategies to transform local communities back to Constitutional norms.