First Amendment
Associated Press/Photo by Sebastian Scheiner

Commissioning conflict

First Amendment | Civil rights board recommends creating protected classes for sexual orientation and gender identity
by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 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.

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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?
by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 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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Associated Press/Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

To tweet or not to tweet: Who gets to say?

First Amendment | Two recent cases could determine whether public officials’ social media accounts are ‘dedicated public forums’
by Bonnie Pritchett
Posted 11/07/17, 03:48 pm

A liberal advocacy group in Wisconsin is asking a federal court to declare the Twitter accounts of three state representatives “designated public forums.” As such, blocking access to the accounts is unconstitutional, the group argues. The lawsuit is the second such case filed this year demanding unfettered access to the virtual conversations on elected officials’ Twitter accounts.

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Government weighs in on campus free speech cases

First Amendment | Department of Justice sides with students suing schools to protect First Amendment freedoms

Bonnie Pritchett | 10/31/17, 04:51 pm

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed briefs in Georgia and California courts in support of college students challenging campus speech policies that allegedly violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The briefs, called Statements of Interest, are a welcome show of support for free speech advocates battling policies that dictate where, when, and how students can speak their piece on America’s college campuses. 

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Facebook’s First Amendment chokehold

First Amendment | The social media giant blocked two Christian ministry pages this month, offering only vague explanations about community standards violations

Bonnie Pritchett | 10/24/17, 01:35 pm

Facebook shut down two Christian ministry pages this month, without warning or explanation, renewing fears about the social media giant’s ability to control access to an important corner of today’s public square.

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When speech is not free

First Amendment | Members of the U.S. military don’t enjoy all the First Amendment protections they’re called to defend

Bonnie Pritchett | 10/03/17, 04:16 pm

An active-duty U.S. Army officer could face court-martial and time in the guardhouse for his use of social media to vilify his superiors and promote communism. 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, a 2016 U.S. Military Academy graduate, is under investigation for posts that include a July tweet stating he would “happily dance” on the grave of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

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You better believe it

Culture | Relativism is history, and a confused absolutism is taking its place

Janie B. Cheaney | 9/18/17, 02:25 pm

That may be true for you . . . 
Hey, whatever floats your boat . . . 
My reality isn’t necessarily yours . . .

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Big scary Ben Shapiro

Protest | It costs a lot of money to protect free speech in Berkeley

Sophia Lee | 9/15/17, 05:01 pm

BERKELEY, Calif.—If what happened on Sep. 14 at the University of California, Berkeley—birthplace of the 1960s "free speech movement"—is really what it takes to protect free speech today in the United States, America may be in trouble. 

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No faith in stained glass window funds?

Religious Liberty | Massachusetts taxpayers challenge a city grant to restore an active church’s historic stained glass windows

Leigh Jones | 9/12/17, 12:10 pm

Should a Massachusetts church be eligible for public preservation grants to help restore its historic stained glass windows?

The City of Acton thinks so and awarded Acton Congregational Church $100,000 under its Community Preservation Act. But a group of taxpayers sued, claiming the grant violates the Massachusetts Constitution’s ban on using public money to benefit religious institutions. The state’s Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in the case last week and will issue a ruling in the next few months. 

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A free speech storm over Harvey

Free Speech | A student group laments the chilling effect a professor’s firing could have on campus expression

Bonnie Pritchett | 9/05/17, 03:26 pm

A Florida sociology professor who lost his job last week over a hateful tweet about Harvey victims has a fledgling free-speech organization questioning the “chilling effect” harsh penalties can have on professors and students, on and off campus. 

Defending people’s right to speak without defending what they say is a growing problem, said Matthew Foldi, president and founder of Students for Free Expression, adding that living within the tension of that paradigm is essential to ensure free expression for all, even the most odious.

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