led to establish a test to balance the government's right to restrict art that is considered obscene against the individual's right to freedom of speech. This paper will examine two of the many issues that arise in this area: first, the right of the government to regulate art for which it is providing all or a part of the funding and second, the Supreme Court's definition of what is "obscene" and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.
             In 1998, the United States Supreme Court was faced with deciding whether a provision of the National Foundation of the Arts and the Humanities Act was constitutional or whether it violated the First Amendment rights of artists applying for grants. The National Endowment of the Arts is the federal agency responsible for providing funding for various artists and arts groups such as museums and theater and dance groups. Section 5 (d) of the Act says that the Chairperson of the National Endowment of the Arts shall ensure that when reviewing funding applications that consideration be given to "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public"(2). This provision is commonly known as the "decency and respect" clause.
             In Finley v. National Endowment for the Arts, 118 S. Ct. 2168 (1998) Karen Finley, a
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