The First Amendment Right to a Public Forum

When faced with organized protest against governmental policies, groups controlling governmental processes often seek to avoid change and a resulting diminution of power by denying dissenting groups access to facilities for communication of grievances to the community. In many situations this denial of access takes the form of barring dissenters from the use of public communication facilities. Yet, the first amendment seems to place the Constitution on the side of free access to the community. The first amendment's prohibition on denial of access to communication facilities has been termed "the right to a public forum," and has been the subject of scrutiny by the Supreme Court in Food Employees Local 590 v. Logan Valley Plaza, Inc., 391 U. S. 308 (1968), and Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U. S. 367 (1969).