Citizens United v. FEC is most closely associated with protecting which amendment?

• A. Second Amendment
• B. Tenth Amendment
• C. First Amendment
• D. Eighth Amendment

Answer: (C)

The main idea is that political speech is protected by the First Amendment. Citizens United v. FEC holds that corporations and unions have the same free-speech rights as individuals when it comes to spending money on political communications. Because spending money to advocate for or against political viewpoints is treated as a form of speech, restrictions on independent political expenditures by corporations and unions violate the First Amendment. This connection is why the First Amendment is the best fit. The other amendments protect different principles—gun rights (Second), state powers (Tenth), and punishments (Eighth)—and do not addresses how political messaging is protected in elections.