Read the following passage from Freedom of Expression in the United States:

History has shown that curtailing free expression by banning speech does not advance democracy. The drafters of the U.S. Constitution recognized that when governments forbid citizens from talking about certain topics, it often forces those citizens to discuss such topics secretly. By allowing individuals to express their opinions — no matter how much the government and other citizens may disagree with them — the First Amendment promotes transparency and social stability. This uninhibited public debate also forces ideas into the intellectual marketplace, where they must compete with the ideas freely expressed by other individuals. This competition of ideas means that inferior or offensive ideas give way to better ones.

Which statement best summarizes the main idea of this passage?

Question 6 options:

a) The main idea of this passage says that the people who wrote the U.S. Constitution wanted to ban free speech.

b) The main idea of this passage is the First Amendment encourages citizens to discuss topics secretly.

c) The main idea of this passage says that democracy is limited when free expression is restricted, and speech is banned.

d) The main idea of this passage is that bad ideas are harmful to a democracy.