; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. See U.S. Const. Amend. I. (2) The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment’s protections apply with equal force to States and localities as it does to the Federal government. See Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925). (3) The Supreme Court has held that implicit in the right to engage in activities protected by the First Amendment [lies] a corresponding right to associate with others. Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609, 622 (1984). This is commonly understood as the right of association. It furthers a wide variety of political, social, economic, educational, religious, and cultural ends, and is especially important in preserving political and cultural diversity and in shielding dissident expression from suppression by the majority. Id. (4) In NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449 (1958), the Supreme Court held the First Amendment’s freedom of association protected the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from compelled disclosure of its members. This was because on past occasions revelation of the identity of its rank-and-file members has exposed these members to economic reprisal, loss of employment, threat of physical coercion, and other manifestations of public hostility. Under these circumstances . . . it [is] apparent that compelled disclosure of petitioner's Alabama membership is likely to affect adversely the ability of petitioner and its members to pursue their collective effort to foster beliefs which they admittedly have the right to advocate, in that it may induce members to withdraw from the Association and dissuade others from joining it because of fear of exposure of their beliefs shown through their associations and of the consequences of this exposure. Id. at 462–463. (5) The First Amendment’s freedom of association has been protected and strengthened by the Supreme Court for over sixty years. See NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson,