1st Amendment Rights

california - is it against the law to say anything i want to anyone i want? if i'm mad at my boyfriend and say i'm going to kill him, is that against the law?

To say you're going to kill someone is a crime, not 1st amendment protected. To say you wish he were dead is a different story, and is protected.

charlie

calif... saying the words "i'm going to kill you" causes no harm. it is the actual killing of someone that is the crime. at least that is what i thought... so basically, the first amendment doesn't allow me free speech? i'm still confused on how the 1st amendment works to protect what i say.

Making threats, whether real or imagined, in not protected by the 1st amendment.

but the speech to make the threat is

cutrisd-your post makes no sense to me. A threat, kept to yourself is not a crime, it becomes a crime when conveyed to others.

A threat to kill someone whether issued through the spoken word, written on paper or sent through electronic communication "is" a crime and "is not" 1st amendment protected.

charlie

my point being if i told you i was going to say some threatening words to someone but hadn't said them yet without the 1st amendment protection i would have committed a crime at that point