First Amendment

Associated Press/Photo by Steve Helber (file)

Judicial wordplay redefines locker room reality

First Amendment | Two courts rule in favor of transgender students who want unfettered access to sex-segregated facilities

by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 5/29/18, 01:38 pm

Two courts, one in Pennsylvania and another in Virginia, last week disregarded students’ pleas for privacy in public school locker rooms and restrooms. The judges avoided making any distinctions between the sexes and ruled transgender students should be allowed to use the sex-segregated facilities that affirm their gender identity.

Associated Press/Photo by Seth Perlman (file)

America’s growing divide over constitutional interpretation

First Amendment | New survey shows young people want the Constitution read with a ‘current times’ mindset

by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 5/22/18, 02:37 pm

A majority of Americans say courts should interpret the U.S. Constitution according to what it “means in current times” not as “originally written,” according a new Pew Research Center survey. This year’s survey results mark the first time a majority of respondents (55 percent) advocate that position and reveal a deep, and growing, generational and political divide over the idea of timeless truth.

Free speech fight returns to the University of Michigan

First Amendment | Student group sues over policy protecting ‘the most sensitive student on campus’

by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 5/15/18, 04:00 pm

A new student organization stepping into the college campus free speech fight wasted no time firing its first salvo by suing the University of Michigan over its speech code. In a lawsuit filed May 8, Speech First alleges the University of Michigan’s “vaguely worded” speech code protects hearers’ sensibilities at the expense of speakers’ constitutional right to free speech.

Will Republicans ditch religious liberty bills?

First Amendment | Faced with accusations of anti-gay bias, state lawmakers are waffling on protections for faith-based foster and adoption agencies

Bonnie Pritchett | 5/01/18, 02:23 pm

Three state legislatures face looming deadlines for bills that would provide legal protection for religious foster and adoption care agencies in their respective states. But the bills have weathered virulent opposition from LGBT lobby groups, and supporters fear lawmakers will buckle under accusations of “discrimination,” leaving agencies exposed to legal challenges that could put them out of business.

New Jersey churches lose preservation grant case

First Amendment | State’s high court rules against funding applications because they allow churches to continue holding religious services

Bonnie Pritchett | 4/24/18, 03:58 pm

A unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court ruled last week that churches should not have access to county historic preservation grants.

Attorneys for a dozen New Jersey churches, all previous grant recipients, are considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Protecting Oklahoma’s Christian adoption agencies

First Amendment | A bill allowing religious groups to operate freely faces an uncertain future in the deeply conservative state

Bonnie Pritchett | 4/17/18, 02:54 pm

Oklahoma state lawmakers last week crippled a bill providing legal protection for religious adoption and foster care agencies that do not place children with same-sex couples. State Rep. Travis Dunlap, a Republican who co-authored the bill, hopes to scrub the unexpected changes before sending the measure to Gov. Mary Fallin, also a Republican. If Dunlap fails, the state likely will lose Christian agencies and churches that have played an integral role in reforming the state’s troubled foster care system.

Whose money talks?

First Amendment | New report issues state free speech rankings based on political contribution laws

Bonnie Pritchett | 4/03/18, 02:00 pm

What political attributes do deep-red Alabama and deep-blue Oregon have in common?

Both states permit unlimited political campaign contributions by individuals, political parties, and political action committees (PACs). So do Nebraska, Utah, and Virginia. All five states share the top ranking in a first-of-its kind report by the Institute for Free Speech (IFS).

The danger of teaching critical thinking

First Amendment | A teacher who asked tough questions about walkouts is suspended, but one student takes her challenge seriously

Bonnie Pritchett | 3/27/18, 03:06 pm

Brandon Gillespie, a junior at Rocklin High School in northern California, put his history teacher’s theory to the test last week. He asked his school’s principal if school administrators would provide the same accommodations for a pro-life demonstration as they did for a March 14 anti–gun violence student walkout.

Alaska women’s center fends off man’s bias claim

First Amendment | Complaint comes as Anchorage voters consider rolling back gender identity ordinance

Bonnie Pritchett | 3/20/18, 03:58 pm

Advocates for Proposition 1, a ballot initiative to rescind part of an Anchorage, Alaska, nondiscrimination law, benefitted last week from an ad campaign money couldn’t buy. As ballots began arriving in mailboxes for the April 3 election, news broke that a man who identifies as a woman filed a complaint with the city because a local shelter for women refused him access.

Wheaton wins one for religious nonprofits

First Amendment | The Christian college’s victory could set a precedent for others still fighting Obamacare’s contraceptive and abortifacient mandate

Bonnie Pritchett | 2/27/18, 03:39 pm

Wheaton College has secured what even the Little Sisters of the Poor has not: A permanent injunction against the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive and abortifacient mandate. After five years of legal wrangling, a U.S. district court judge’s Feb. 22 ruling finally freed the college from the federal regulation.

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