Newswise — The First Amendment is vital to our political system, our cultural institutions and our routine social interactions with others.

In his provocative new book, "Saving Our Children from the First Amendment," Kevin Saunders asserts that freedom of expression can be very harmful to our children, making it more likely that they will be the perpetrators or victims of violence, will grow up racists or will use alcohol or tobacco.

"For communication among adults, the amendment should be fully robust, perhaps even more so than under current law," said Saunders, professor of law at Michigan State University-DCL College of Law."Where children are concerned, however, the amendment should be significantly weaker.

"Society should be allowed to limit the access of children to materials not suitable to their age."

The book examines both the value and cost of free expression in America, demonstrating how an unregulated flow of information can be detrimental to youth.

"While the great value of the First Amendment is found in its protection of our most important political freedoms, this is far more significant for adults who can fully grasp and benefit from the freedom of expression than for children," Saunders said.

Constitutional prohibitions on distributing sexual materials to children should be expanded to include violent, vulgar or profane materials and music that contains hate speech, Saunders proposes.

Renowned George Washington University professor Amitai Etzioni called the book "scholarship at its best: erudite but readable; relevant but not time bound; academic but also very attentive to profound moral issues."

"Saving Our Children from the First Amendment" is available from New York University Press at http://www.nyupress.org

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Saving Our Children from the First Amendment