First Amendment
302 pieces tagged “First Amendment”, newest first.
From Inside the Supreme Court, the Key Exchanges on a Case Pitting Unions vs. First Amendment
[Monday] morning, the Supreme Court heard a challenge to the requirement in California that government employees, such as public school teachers, pay fees to the local union even if they choose not to join the union.
A Chance to Mend First Amendment Rights
When the Supreme Court contemplates changing its mind, it must weigh the institutional interest in the law's continuity against evidence that a prior decision has done an injury, even a constitutional injury. The court took 58 years to begin, with the 1954 school desegregation decision, undoing its 1896 decision affirming the constitutionality of "separate but equal" public facilities and services. On Monday, oral arguments at the court will indicate whether it is ready to undo 39 years of damage to the First Amendment rights of millions of government employees.
How Lawmakers Stopped Part of Obama's Assault on First Amendment
There is no question that the omnibus appropriations bill that Congress passed just before its holiday recess is full of wasteful spending. Even worse, it completely funds Obama's unilateral, above-the-law executive actions in almost every area, from his immigration amnesty program to his overregulation of power plants. However, there is one area where Congress acted through the omnibus (and tax extenders bill) to stop part of the administration's assault on the First Amendment.
The Death of Free Speech
Four in 10 young Americans have no idea what America is. That's the takeaway from a new Pew Research poll showing that 40 percent of Americans aged 18-34 say that the government should be able to prevent people from making "statements that are offensive to minority groups." This same group of young people has granted broad awareness to the culture of "microaggression" — unintended slights taken as grave insults by their victims; they've also called for "trigger warnings," alerts that certain communications may dredge up unpleasant past memories or ideas.
Too Many Americans Are OK With Punishing Climate Skeptics
Let's not sugar coat a new survey's findings.
The First Amendment Is Dying
Now, we shouldn't overstate the problem. Most of us are able to freely engage in arguments and express ourselves without worrying about the state's interfering. This will not end tomorrow. But it is difficult to ignore how creeping illiberalism has infected our discourse and how not many people seem to care.
Supreme Court Tackles Sinister Trends
The IRS scandal — the denial of essential tax-exempt status to conservative advocacy groups, thereby effectively suppressing the groups' activities — demonstrates this: When government is empowered to regulate advocacy, it will be tempted to suppress some of it. And sometimes government will think like Oscar Wilde: "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."
Obama's Jail Break
Over the weekend, 6,000 so-called "non-violent criminals" were released from federal prisons, part of the Obama administration's efforts to relax sentences for non-violent drug offenders. An additional 8,500 prisoners may be deemed eligible for early release next year. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Administration officials estimate that as many as 46,000 prisoners may have their sentences reduced over the next few years, leading to what one report called "the biggest prisoner release in U.S. history."
Strike Down the Supreme Court's 'Buffer Zone'
What made Harold Hodge Jr. believe he was entitled to peacefully stand with a protest sign on the outdoor plaza of the US Supreme Court? A 1949 federal statute makes it illegal to assemble or demonstrate on the Supreme Court grounds, or to display there any "flag, banner, or device" expressing a public message. Hodge, a Maryland college student, violated that law four years ago by standing in front of the court building wearing a placard around his neck that read: "The U.S. Gov. Allows Police To Illegally Murder And Brutalize African Americans and Hispanic People." Hodge was ordered three times to leave the plaza and then arrested, but he claims he had a First Amendment right to be there with his sign.
Denver's Unconstitutional Harassment of Jury Nullification Activists
The City Treats Handing Out Pamphlets Near a Courthouse as a Crime
The Beginning of the End of Religious Freedom
Just in case you need a refresher: Back in 2012, a baker in the Denver suburb of Lakewood was asked by a gay couple to make them a wedding cake — two years before gay marriage was even legalized in Colorado. The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Jack Phillips, declined to participate in Charlie Craig and David Mullins' celebration because such an event conflicted with his Christian faith. Here are a few things Phillips didn't do: He didn't query consumers about their sexual preferences. He didn't bar same-sex couples from purchasing a cake at a place of public accommodation. He didn't ask consumers traveling in same-sex pairs to leave his shop. He didn't hang a "No Gays Allowed" sign in his window.
Make Him Bake Cake
Compelling Participation in Gay Wedding Celebrations Turns the Oppressed Into the Oppressors
Court: Christian Baker Must Provide Wedding Cakes for Same-Sex Couples
A family bakery owned by a Christian cannot refuse to make wedding cakes for homosexual couples, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The court affirmed the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's order that Jack Phillips, the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act when he refused to make a wedding cake for Charlie Craig and David Mullins.
The Christian Purge Has Begun
Chaplains banned from preaching that homosexuality is a sin
TCU Reinstates Conservative Student Punished Over Anti-Islam Tweets
On August 4 I told you about Harry Vincent — a conservative Texas Christian University student who was suspended and severely punished for posting a series of online messages that insulted the Islamic State, the Baltimore rioters and Mexicans. On August 5 the private university had a change of heart and reinstated Harry. "The chancellor called me at my home and told me that he decided my punishment was too harsh and he was going to lessen it to one year of probation," Harry told me.