¶ 26 C. Preliminary Findings ¶ 27 We observe that we cannot avoid addressing the constitutionality of section 1123.5(b). A court will not consider constitutional issues where a case can be decided on other grounds. People v. Nash, 173 Ill. 2d 423, 432 (1996); People ex rel. Waller v. 1990 Ford Bronco, 158 Ill. 2d 460, 464-65 (1994). In this case, section 11-23.5(b) covers defendant’s alleged conduct, and no other justification for the circuit court’s judgment has been asserted. Therefore, as the circuit court found, it is proper to reach the constitutional issues presented. See, e.g., United States v. Grace, 461 U.S. 171, 175-76 (1983). ¶ 28 Additionally, the circuit court determined that section 11-23.5(b) is facially unconstitutional because it is a content-based restriction of speech in violation of the first amendment. Notably, after finding that the statute violated the first amendment, the court held, without specific analysis, that the statute also violated Illinois’s constitutional free speech guaranty (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 4). Further, before this court, the parties do not offer any arguments specifically addressing our state constitutional free speech guaranty. Therefore, we consider only federal constitutional principles. See, e.g., Pooh-Bah Enterprises, Inc. v. County of Cook, 232 Ill. 2d 463, 502-03 (2009). ¶ 29 D. First Amendment ¶ 30 The first amendment, which applies to the states through the fourteenth amendment, provides that government “shall make no law *** abridging freedom of speech.” U.S. Const., amends. I, XIV; De Jonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353, 364 (1937). “[T]he First Amendment, subject only to narrow and well-understood exceptions, does not countenance governmental control over the content of messages expressed by private individuals.” Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Comm’n, 512 U.S. 622, 641 (1994); see also Stevens, 559 U.S. at 468 (stating that “the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content”); R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377, 382 (1992) (stating that the first amendment “generally prevents government from proscribing speech *** because of disapproval of the ideas expressed”). -9-