freedomrankings.comFirst Amendment
3 states tie for first in First Amendment at 8.0/10: California, New York and Oregon. 2 states tie for last at 5.5/10: Louisiana and Mississippi. Each state is scored 0–10 on First Amendment from established, annually-updated third-party indexes.
Score reflects anti-SLAPP and shield laws, campus free speech, protest protections, and government transparency. Editorial assessment — see methodology. Greener = stronger; select any state for its full breakdown.
For First Amendment freedom in our index, California, New York and Oregon tie for #1 at 8.0/10 — each typically a state with a strong anti-SLAPP law, a press shield law, and campus free-speech protections. The full ranking is above.
An anti-SLAPP law lets someone quickly dismiss a meritless lawsuit filed to silence or punish their speech. 40 states plus DC have one; see our anti-SLAPP explainer for the holdouts.
In our First Amendment assessment, Louisiana and Mississippi tie for lowest; their shared score reflects weaker statutory protections like the absence of an anti-SLAPP or shield law.
It is an editorial assessment — there is no single annual index for state speech protections — drawing on anti-SLAPP and shield laws, campus free-speech statutes, and transparency laws. See the methodology page.