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The Fourth of July is the most important date in the United States calendar, commemorating the day the 13 former American colonies declared themselves independent states and thumbed their collective nose at Great Britain. This paved the way, 13 years later, for the US Constitution to be enshrined in 1789. The First Amendment followed in 1791, establishing the basic rights of freedom of all US citizens. The second was also added at the same time and is perhaps the most contentious and famous of all the 27 amendments the right to bear arms, which has been in the headlines during the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyds death. Also slipped in on 25 September, 1789, among the 10 amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, was one that has been practically forgotten by history: the Third Amendment.

The decision by Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to write to President Donald Trump demanding the ousting of 1,000 Utah National Guard troops from hotels in the capital has suddenly thrown the little-studied Third Amendment into sharp relief with dusty tomes being pulled from shelves to see what exactly the Democratic mayors issue is.

The first to find the relevant page was US Senator Mike Lee, the Republican representative for Utah, who was incensed that Bowser had invoked the centuries old small print to evict the National Guard from Washington hotels after the state of emergency put in place due to protests over George Floyds death had been declared over by Bowser on 4 June.

The original text of the Third Amendment is brief and specific: No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

It was added to the Bill of Rights in response to the Quartering Acts drawn up by the British parliament in 1774 in the run-up to the American Revolutionary War. These acts (a previous one had been introduced in 1765) essentially ordered that British troops be housed wherever necessary if there was not sufficient space in barracks, be this in uninhabited houses, out-houses, barns, or other buildings including private homes.

This was among the list of grievances aired in the Declaration of Independence and the wording of the Third Amendment was crafted in response to Britain slyly building up forces at strategic points by waving the Quartering Act about and to ensure no internal antagonists could concentrate troops using a similar ruse.

However, under the terminology of the amendment, National Guard troops are considered soldiers, even if they are hardly an occupying army. Thusly Bowser was able to invoke the Third Amendment to make her point.

Not a great deal, other than a raft of memes, a little head-scratching and some political point-scoring. Even though the hotels that had billeted the National Guard had consented to their presence, Defense Secretary Mark Esper elected to send all troops in Washington back from whence they came as the path of least resistance, allowing the Third Amendment to return to its two-century hibernation.

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What is the third amendment and can it be applied now? - AS English

In the wake of current events not only in Seattle but across the nation, we recognize that it is The Spectators responsibility to report on all matters impacting the Seattle University community.

The Spectator Editorial Board supports the #BlackLivesMatter movement and we stand in solidarity with the Black community, both within and outside Seattle U. We are committed to speaking out against the police brutality, state-sanctioned violence and white supremacy in this country that has led to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, among so many others.

As student journalists, we recognize the privilege we hold and are committed to using our platform to amplify Black voices, Black activists and Black organizers. We want to bring to the forefront the injustices that Black people face in this country, time and time again. We are dedicated to our mission of honest and accurate storytelling in order to report for social change and social justice.

Journalism has always been a key driving force in maintaining democracy, but it is important to understand that white men in state media have upheld institutions and systems of power that silence Black and Indigenous folks in their reporting. We refuse to desensitize ourselves and our readers to the harsh realities that Black people endure in their daily lives. We refuse to be like other media outlets that only show half of the story, leaving out the most important perspectives. We refuse to be complicit during a time when our country is trying to silence our first amendment rights.

We will utilize all of our platforms to accurately report on and update the community on all matters that stem from white supremacy in this country. We want to reinforce the message others have stated eloquently regarding our responsibility to stand up for the oppressed and avidly commit ourselves to being anti-racist. The Spectator is working diligently to educate the people on petitions, protests, ways to donate and how to support the Black members of our community.

As the state of unrest continues in our country, we want to welcome our community members to submit opinion pieces of their own regarding the current state of the country and the reactions of its citizens. While we encourage speaking out on matters individuals feel passionately about, we wish to make it explicitly clear that The Spectator will not accept nor publish pieces that promote hatred, violence or bigotry.

As we continue to educate ourselves and remain at the scenes of protests we encourage others to seek knowledge on the #BlackLivesMatter movement and advocate for the oppressed. Blacklivesmatter.carrd.co offers multiple resources for those who wish to help. Seattle U will hold a vigil for racial justice on June 4 and students have created a petition asking the university for additional support for Black students during finals.

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The Spectator's Official Message to Stand with Black Students and Uphold Our First Amendment Rights - The Spectator

WASHINGTON The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr demanding that he direct officers who have been deployed to police or monitor the ongoing protests to wear badges or other markers displaying their agency affiliations, their identification numbers, and their names. Some of the heavily armed officers who have been deployed in Washington, DC, have not been wearing such markers. The Institutes letter states that the No-Badge practices chill the exercise of First Amendment rights and raise a host of other concerns.

The No-Badge practices seem designed to instill fear and to intimidate people from exercising rights protected by the First Amendment, said Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director at the Knight First Amendment Institute. They also conceal information that the public has a right to know. There is no legitimate justification for these practices, and they should have no place in any free society.

According to the Knight Institutes letter, the practices raise an array of serious concerns, including contributing to public mistrust of law enforcement and the government more broadly. The letter states that the practices will chill private citizens from participating in protests, and also undermine the legitimacy of whatever demands the armed personnel make of the citizens with whom they interact. The practices will also frustrate accountability, the letter states, because protesters and members of the public cannot know whom to hold responsible when these personnel engage in conduct that is abusive or unlawful.

These practices are bad policy, and they also raise grave constitutional concerns, said Leena Charlton, a legal fellow at the Knight Institute. The ability to identify members of law enforcement plays an essential role in ensuring government accountability, stemming police brutality, and vindicating civil rights.

The letter asks that, by June 10, the Attorney General respond and explain the steps he has taken to ensure that all personnel under his supervision or control deployed to police or monitor public protests display identifying information.

Read todays letterhere.

In response to police killings of Black men, women, and children and to the excessive use of force against protesters and journalists covering the demonstrations, the Knight First Amendment Institute staff also issued a statement today that calls for reforms to strengthen public access to information about police misconduct; protect those who expose that misconduct; and guarantee the rights of those who are currently protesting.

Read todays statementhere.

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Knight Institute Demands Attorney General Direct Armed Officers Deployed in DC to Display Identities and Agency Affiliations - YubaNet

Hours after the sometimes chaotic protesting died down, two soldiers with the D.C. National Guard kept watch at the mostly calm corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street N.W.

It was about 11:30 p.m. at the midpoint between the White House and the Capitol building and Staff Sgt. Jeremy French and Pfc. Rich Lynch were stationed to make sure no vehicles headed northwest on Pennsylvania Ave.

They were part of the largest domestic mobilization of Guard troops in the nations history, with more than 17,000 activated for civil unrest duties and about 45,000 more to help with the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The D.C. troops were armed only with defensive weapons, Guard officials said. Rubber bullets, shields and batons. They were not assigned to arrest or detain anyone, and the use of proportional force was only allowed if their lives were endangered.

It kind of makes sense to me that they would chose Washington, D.C., to come and be heard, French said of the thousands of people who flooded into town to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who prosecutors say was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who had his knee on a restrained Floyds throat.

Thats because right there in the background is the U.S. Capitol, said French, nodding his head toward the gleaming domed structure four blocks to the southeast. Those are the people who make the laws. So if you had something you wanted to be able to have your voice heard about, to make an impact and maybe change, that would be the place to do it. So I think this is the appropriate place to be heard.

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French and Lynch were pulling duty several hours after President Donald Trump announced his intentions to call in active duty troops to respond to the growing unrest that is sweeping the nation, resulting in several deaths, massive destruction and hundreds of thousands of people expressing their outrage over racial injustice.

French avoided politics, saying his perspective is just from his position at the intersection of 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue. But he said it is local law enforcement, not the military, that is best suited to coping with the looting, burning and violence that has erupted along with peaceful protests.

Weve seen some protesters come up and down, back and forth, but it seems like its been pretty peaceful, said French, 49, who previously served with the Marines in both the first Gulf War and Afghanistan and later as a contractor working in Afghanistan.

Im definitely not an expert on civil disturbances, he said, so it looks to me like the D.C. Metro Police are doing a pretty good job of controlling the situation and with us in general support, maybe this is enough. Im not really sure if you brought more military in that they would be able to do anything any different.

The D.C. Metro Police are specially trained for this mission, he said.

As he spoke, several police cars speed north, lights flashing, down 7th Avenue toward some unknown event.

Here in the nations capital, protest is not a new thing, said French. Neither are large activities like Fourth of July celebrations, parades, things of that nature. So I believe protest activity is something better left to the experts and I would say the experts are definitely D.C. Metro Police.

The military is trained in crowd-control techniques and tactics, however that is with more of a DoD type of flair in a deployed environment, said French. But this is the U.S. It is a little bit different here.

Protecting Rights

Both French and Lynch said they felt their mission was essential to upholding the constitutional rights of free assembly.

Lynch, the private first class, spent half of his 20 years as a resident of the District.

Im just doing my job, he said. I know a lot about this area and how these people feel about the situations going on, but I am just doing what I am supposed to.

And thats making sure motorists dont drive toward the White House, or interfere with those who are protesting. Helping to block the street was a tan light medium tactical vehicle from the D.C. National Guard motor pool, parked in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The mission is to separate the good protesters and then the rioters and looters, said Lynch. You kind of have to draw the line between which is which.

How do you do that?

Just see the actions they take, they speak louder than words, he said. If they are throwing bricks at you, they are not there to be peaceful. If they are just holding up signs and not causing any violence, why should we use violence, you know?"

Lynch said that hes had positive interactions with most of those who have taken to the streets.

People are now starting to associate our uniforms with police uniforms and thats the thing: We are not police, he said, smiling. We are not here to arrest you for jaywalking or smoking whatever you want to smoke. We are here to just assist.

French said that Washington is near and dear to my heart.

It was my first duty station in the Marine Corps, he said. I was stationed at Marine Barracks 8th and I back in 1989 so thats 30 years ago. ...my civilian job was in Washington, D.C.

As a D.C. Guardsman, French said we are out here in general support of the D.C. Metro Police to help ensure public safety for everybody, provide the opportunity for protesters to assemble peacefully and try to reduce the amount of the unlawful activity that is going on after hours in certain areas being done by certain people. So I think it is a pretty important job for all of the Americans who were out here, to give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights but within the legal boundary of the rule of law.

For French, Monday was his first night on the streets during the protests.

Ive had a very positive experience, he said. Been treated well by passers by and the like. Ive had several conversations with folks, so I have been treated really well.

Esper and Milley visit troops after church tumult

While it was calm in Washington near midnight Monday, several hours earlier the scene near the White House at St. Johns Episcopal Church at 15th and H streets NW was bedlam.

Those protesting were hit with tear gas as Trump and a coterie of officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley made their way to the church.

Law enforcement officers were aggressively forcing the protesters back, firing tear gas and deploying flash bangs into the crowd to disperse them from the park for seemingly no reason. It was a jarring scene as police in the nations capital forcefully cleared young men and women gathered legally in a public park on a sunny evening, all of it on live television.

With smoke still wafting and isolated tussles continuing in the crowd, Trump emerged in the Rose Garden for a dramatic split-screen of his own creation.

I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters," he declared, before demanding that governors across the nation deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. And Trump warned that, if the governors refused, he would deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.

As an additional show of force, Trump announced he was deploying even more of the military to Washington, giving it the feel of an armed, locked-down city after days of violent clashes, arson and looting.

As we speak I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers," he said, as explosions rang out in the background. We are putting everybody on warning.

Hours later, Esper and Milley, along with Army Chief of Staff, Gen. James McConville and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy arrived at 15th and K streets NW to talk with D.C. Guardsmen.

Thanks for being out here, said Esper, his arms crossed, to one of the soldiers. Thanks for your service. You want to go on active duty?

Esper did not take questions from a small group of reporters on the scene. But Milley spoke for about half a minute.

Those gathered, he said, can protest, but to protest peacefully.

The Pentagons top officer said his message on this night was to allow freedom to assemble, freedom of speech, thats perfectly fine. We support that. We took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America to do that. And to protect everyones rights. And thats what we do. Weve got the D.C. National Guard out here and I was just checking to see how well they are doing, thats all.

Just before midnight, the young PFC who spent half his life as a resident of the District reflected on an historic turn of events in a city that has been burned and looted over days of protest both peaceful and violent.

I walked up and down these streets as a civilian before I joined the Guard, said Pfc. Rich Lynch. And to see the way it looks now, its crazy.

This story contains information from the Associated Press

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Guard troops in DC say they want to 'give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights' - Military Times

Over the past week, millions of protestersacross the country spoke out against racial injustice, police brutality and the death of George Floyd.

As cities enacted curfews, and reports of aggressive police tacticsspread, many have raised concerns about what rights protesters have.

Organizations including the ACLUand the Legal Aid Society have emphasized the importance of protesters knowing their legal rights.

Another concern that many protesters share is whether their actions could impact their livelihoods, with some wondering, "Can I be fired for protesting?"

While it's unclear whether any protesters have been fired, a common misconception is that the First Amendmentprotects protesters' jobs, says Jonathan Bell, a New York-based labor attorney.

"A lot of people say, 'Well, what about the First Amendment? Doesn't it protect our right to protest?' The answer is yes. The First Amendment does protect an individual's right to protest, but it doesn't afford any protection for employment," he says. "Freedom of speech does not mean that your employer can't terminate you for any reason, especially if you're an employee at will."

CNBC Make It talked with protesters in New York and Washington, including several who spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they feared their participation in demonstrations could lead to negative consequences in their careers.

"Yesterday, I lied to my boss to go to a protest. It didn't occur to me to tell them what I was doing," a black woman who works for a start-up in New York City told Make It. "I have a white friend who emailed her boss explaining she was going to a protest and got approved for time off. I'm worried about the message it would send about me being 'radical' if I asked, whereas I feel like my white friend was able to ask because it signals to her boss that she's a 'good person.'"

One 22-year-old protester based in Washington, who works as anaccount management associate, said he was explicitly told protesting could "result in termination,"but ultimately he felt standing up for what he believed in was most important.

A 30-year-old New York-based protester who works for a nonprofit and uses they/them pronounsalso worried that protesting could result in getting fired but feels strongly it's the right thing to do.

"There are many reasons I'm still out protesting. The violence has been so intense and deserves witness and response, and I feel such grief for my fallen trans siblings," they said, referencing Tony McDade, a black trans man who was shot and killed by a police officer in Tallahassee, Florida, last week. Police said that while investigating a fatal stabbing, McDade was in the area, matched the description of the suspect and was shot after pointing a gun at an officer.

"There are so many young kids out there!" the protester said. "The cops are going after them with greater force. They want to intimidate us to staying home."

"And ultimately, I'll be fine if they fire me. How many millions of people are without work right now?"

Others said they've felt supported by their employers. In one instance, a 29-year-old New York protester who works as a director of brand communications said her manager let her skip a meeting in order to go to a demonstration.

"My boss asked if I wanted to join a call, and I knew I had the space to tell her I can't because I was going to a protest. Her response was, 'That is more important,'" said the protester. "Our black friends and family need us more than ever. They are exhausted, we need to show up for them in every way possible."

Human resources and legal experts tell CNBC Make It there are several factors to consider when determining if a person can be fired for attending a protest. Here are a few of them:

A participant holding a Defund The Police sign at the protest. Thousands of protesters filled the streets of Brooklyn in a massive march to demand justice for George Floyd, killed by Officer Derek Chauvin and to make a loud call for the defunding of the police force.

Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

"At-will" employees are not protected by a contract or a bargaining agreement, so they can be fired without cause.

According to the National Conference of State Legislators, "The U.S. is one of a handful of countries where employment is predominantly at-will. Most countries around the world allow employers to dismiss employees only for cause."

"If you're an employee at will, you can be fired for any reason at all," says Bell. "You can be fired because someone doesn't like the color of your shoes, as long as it's not discrimination based on race, age, religion, gender, disability or a protected class."

He says the vast majority of working Americans are at-will employees. Doctors with contracts with specific hospitals are among the minority of workers who are not considered at-will. If you are not an at-will employee, you should thoroughly read your contract, he says.

Another variable is where your live.

"It really depends upon what state you're in," says Bell. "For example, states that do have laws or provisions regulating termination are states like California, Colorado and New York, where basically the law is that if you're engaging in a lawful activity during nonwork hours, then employers can't terminate you."

Amber Clayton, director of the Society for Human Resource Management's Knowledge Center, says such protections are often referred to as "off-duty conduct laws" or "lifestyle discrimination laws."

"Those are the kinds of laws that actually would protect employees from being terminated for peaceful protesting, for example," she explains.

Here is SHRM's guide to how these protections vary from state to state.

Even in states like New York that have such laws, workers need to "look out for minor violations," says Bell, noting that while protesting is a legal activity, workers are sometimes fired if they have been arrested for unlawful activity.

According to early estimates from The Associated Press, police arrested over 10,000 protesters in the past week for offenses such as blocking highways and breaking curfew.

"If protesters are arrested for what is deemed 'unlawful activity,' then employers may be able to take action," says Clayton. "But it's important to remember that states have varying laws with regards to arrest and conviction records and also to keep in mind that arrests don't necessarily mean that someone is convicted."

Here is a resourcethat protesters can reference that compiles state employment laws on use of arrests and convictions.

Ultimately, there is no federal legislation that protects protesters from being fired.

Without federal protections, Clayton says workers also need to pay close attention to employers' policies to make sure they have all of the information they need.

"For example, some employers may have policies where employees can't wear uniforms out in public and show that they're representative of the organization while they're doing any kind of off-duty work," she says.

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As people protest across the U.S., some wonder: Could you be fired for protesting? - CNBC