Few things are more American than protests.

The basic right to protest is bigger than any one issue or stance.

Everyone, regardless of political ideology, should defend the rights for peaceful protests even if they vehemently disagree with what protestors are saying.

The Bill of Rights guarantees the right to peaceably assemble in protest.

When people cannot speak out against the government, they are not free.

By protecting the rights of protesters, the First Amendment protects our freedom — everyone’s freedom.

These words, in so many ways, define what it means to be an American: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The same 45 words of the First Amendment which protect everyone’s rights to practice their own faith and religion, protect the rights of protesters, whether you agree with their cause or not.

To be clear, protesting is not rioting, and rioting is not protesting.

Peaceful protesters should not be maligned or denied their rights because of bad things that others may do in the name of protests, anymore than anyone’s religion should be maligned or denied because of bad things people may do in the name of religion.

Local authorities should always make sure protesters can protest.

Sometimes protesters may be loud and they may shout things, carry posters and express themselves in ways that you personally find objectionable but if we only defend and allow the speech we agree with then free speech does not really exist.

None of us wants to live under a repressive form of government but when we would deny the rights of people to peaceably assemble, to petition the government for a redress of grievances and to exercise their full rights to free speech, we are taking a huge step in that direction.

Government should never take steps to silence its critics and that is true whether we are talking about federal, state or local government.

The right to protest is not a Republican right, or a Democrat right, it is a basic American right.