Poll: A third believe 1st Amendment goes too far

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A new survey finds a third of Americans believe the First Amendment goes too far in guaranteeing freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition - up from 13% in last year's survey.

The Newseum Institute released its State of the First Amendment results Tuesday. The survey has been conducted since 1997 to determine awareness and opinions about the First Amendment.

Ken Paulson, president of the Nashville, Tenn.-based First Amendment Center, says it's unsettling that so many Americans view the First Amendment as providing too much freedom.

The survey found Americans identified freedom of speech as the most important freedom.

The telephone poll was conducted in May with 1,006 adults in the 48 contiguous states. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

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