Bonnie Pritchett

Bonnie reports on First Amendment freedoms for WORLD Digital.

Associated Press/Photo by John Minchillo

Federal court blocks Kansas anti-boycott law

First Amendment | Judge rules bill shielding Israeli businesses from discrimination violates constitutional free speech protections

by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 2/06/18, 03:37 pm

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Kansas law requiring state contractors to certify they are not participating in any boycotts against Israel. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree said the Kansas law, enacted in July, stymies protected political speech.

Synagogue fights quiet but vital religious liberty battle

First Amendment | Legal experts say local land use fights highlight the ongoing struggle religious groups face in an increasingly secular culture

by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 1/30/18, 03:54 pm

Land use activists normally reserve the “not in my backyard” declaration for halting the incursion of the most odious bad neighbors, like landfills, ostensibly in defense of property values or neighborhood safety. But what excuse do residents of Boca Raton, Fla., have for filing lawsuits to prohibit the construction of a Jewish synagogue?

Wisconsin school drops transgender fight

Transgenderism | An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court could have settled the question of gender identity protections in Title IX

by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 1/16/18, 12:34 pm

For two years, the U.S. Supreme Court has been able to avoid the inevitable, but the justices will be asked, most likely this year, to define the meaning of “sex” in Title IX.

Transgender schoolchildren and their attorneys argue gender identity is a protected class under the federal education nondiscrimination law, and judges mostly have agreed. A confluence of cases are headed to appeals courts across the country, pitting transgender students’ demands for access to the restrooms and locker rooms of their choice against schools’ attempts to maintain privacy for all students.

Mississippi religious liberty law gets high court reprieve

Religious Liberty | Conscience protection bill provides a defense to lawsuits over Christian beliefs about marriage, sexuality

Bonnie Pritchett | 1/09/18, 05:23 pm

The U.S. Supreme Court opted Monday not to weigh in on a case challenging a new Mississippi law that provides a defense against adverse government action and private lawsuits over religious convictions about marriage, sexuality, and gender identity.

Forecasting First Amendment challenges

First Amendment | Religious liberty and free speech advocates outline cases and issues to watch in the coming year

Bonnie Pritchett | 1/02/18, 04:44 pm

From city councils to the U.S. Supreme Court, free speech and religious liberty advocates continue to keep a watchful eye—and a hopeful attitude—on the conflicts spilling over into 2018. As the new year begins, I asked advocates in the areas of law, education, and public policy to forecast the challenges and anticipated triumphs for 2018. The respondents were Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute; Gregory Seltz, executive director of the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty; Matt Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel; Zach Greenberg, the Justice Robert H.

A year of free exercise fights

First Amendment | Christian families, business owners, and ministries did battle this year to retain their constitutional right to live out their faith in the public square

Bonnie Pritchett | 12/26/17, 05:48 pm

Legal challenges to Christians’ public expression of faith at work, home, school, and in ministry continued throughout 2017. And as the year drew to a close, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could affect them all.

A defining moment for Title VII

Sexuality | Supreme Court passes on a case that would have redefined ‘sex’ to include sexual orientation

Bonnie Pritchett | 12/19/17, 12:39 pm

The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal last week to hear a case seeking to expand the definition of “sex” in federal employment law to include sexual orientation only delays the inevitable court battle in the war on words. Similar cases are making their way through the lower courts with mixed results, which will force the high court or Congress to step in eventually.

No freedom for the captives?

First Amendment | Atheist organization demands an end to seminary classes in Wisconsin prisons

Bonnie Pritchett | 12/12/17, 04:27 pm

Held captive by a determination to keep religion confined to churches and homes, the Freedom from Religion Foundation is demanding the Wisconsin Department of Corrections sever ties with an educational ministry that offers inmates a degree in Biblical studies.

Commissioning conflict

First Amendment | Civil rights board recommends creating protected classes for sexual orientation and gender identity

Bonnie Pritchett | 12/05/17, 02:00 pm

The headquarters of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) is a mile and a half, or a brisk 20-minute walk, west of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washigton, D.C. Despite its geographic proximity, the release last week of a report calling for a federal LGBT nondiscrimination law indicates the commissioners are far removed from what was heard at the high court Tuesday.

Fighting for free speech at private universities

First Amendment | When administrators aren’t required to abide by the First Amendment, can students still speak up?

Bonnie Pritchett | 11/28/17, 01:49 pm

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is no Berkeley-on-the-Hudson: Nothing burned during a student protest outside an October black-tie fundraiser hosted by school President Shirley Ann Jackson. But the protest and the ensuing disciplinary charges against two students at the Troy, N.Y., school highlights the lack of constitutional accountability at private institutions, including Christian colleges.

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