First Amendment News
The Daily Signal covers First Amendment news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on free expression, press freedom, and religious rights.
-
Family Fights for First Amendment Rights of 6-Year-Old Daughter Severely Punished for ‘Any Life’ Matters Drawing
The Pacific Legal Foundation has asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court ruling in California that said elementary school students have no First Amendment rights. A 6-year-old nicknamed “B.B.” in the Capistrano Unified School District in Southern California was introduced to the phrase “Black Lives Matter” in her first-grade…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
Some Comedians Stand Up for Free Speech, the Only Cause Celebre That Matters
We get to live in a disruptive, consequential era—one for the history books. We wonder what they’ll say about today. Political correctness and cancel culture have made a major mark on our lives, but don’t seem to be aging well. The PC police have even gotten in the way of artists expressing themselves freely and…Andrew Olivastro -
Top 10 Companies That Step on First Amendment Freedoms
Several major U.S. companies continue to flout First Amendment freedoms, according to a legal group’s new analysis and rankings. Alliance Defending Freedom’s annual Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index ranks dozens of corporations based on their “respect for free speech and religious freedoms” both inside and outside of the companies. In its third edition, announced Tuesday,…Hudson Crozier -
Note to Ketanji Brown Jackson: The First Amendment Should ‘Hamstring’ the Government. That’s the Entire Point.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government strong-armed Big Tech companies into censoring as “disinformation” Americans’ true experiences while effectively mandating government propaganda, which itself turned out to be misinformation. The Supreme Court is currently considering whether that strategy violated the First Amendment. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested during oral arguments Monday that…Tyler O’Neil -
Tech Titans’ First Amendment Court Case Tries to Have It Both Ways
Big Tech is back at the Supreme Court. Appealing from a big loss they suffered at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, social media platforms are challenging Texas’ social media law that prohibits those companies from engaging in viewpoint discrimination when curating their platforms. They claim Texas’ law violates their First Amendment rights for compelling them to host content. In…Joel Thayer -
ACLU Teams With Conservative Religious Liberty Group to Sue DC Metro Over Ad Restrictions That Violate First Amendment
The American Civil Liberties Union joined with the conservative legal group First Liberty Institute on Monday to challenge the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s restrictions on advertising as First Amendment violations. The two groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of WallBuilder Presentations, an organization that raises awareness about the “moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America…Katelynn Richardson -
Big Tech, Big Government Jackboots Trample Free Speech Rights
Our own government has waged “psychological operations” and other attacks on the free speech rights of the American people. That’s according to witnesses at a Thursday hearing of the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The hearing was part of a series following up on last year’s disturbing revelations of…Jarrett Stepman -
Poll: Clear Majority of Democrats Want Free Speech Restrictions
A new poll has revealed that almost half of Democratic voters think that free speech should be legal only “under certain circumstances,” with three-quarters of Democrats also saying that the government should restrict “hateful” social media posts. The poll results indicate a continued emphasis toward censorship on the part of left-leaning voters, even in the…Dan Hart -
Harvard’s Free Speech Climate? Below Zero
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit group committed to protecting free speech, and College Pulse last week released their annual report on the state of free speech on American college campuses. For the report, 55,102 students were surveyed across 254 colleges and universities over a six-month period from January to June. Harvard…Anna Low -
Pew Research: Democrats Value Free Speech Far Less Than Republicans
In case you were in doubt—and if you were in doubt, that means you aren’t following what is happening in America to the most important freedom of all—Pew Research has confirmed that Democrats value free speech far less than Republicans do. Read the following statistics and conclusions and weep for our country: “The share of…Dennis Prager -
‘Pride’ Police Claim Free Speech Is ‘Unsafe.’ Get Over It.
June is designated as “Pride Month,” which is allegedly about inclusion and diversity, but the Pride Police don’t actually believe in that. There is no diversity of opinions on LGBTQ issues. It’s “My Way” or the Bigot Highway. They say “Pride Month” is about visibility, but there shall be no visibility for any resistance. Their…Tim Graham -
Top 10 Companies That Ignore First Amendment Rights
A new database shows that some of Americans’ favorite companies—such as Airbnb, Amazon, and Disney—disregard religious freedom and free speech. Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal organization devoted to protecting religious freedom and other First Amendment rights, joined with Inspire Insight, an investment tool that provides data on the religious values of companies, to produce the…Gigi De La Torre -
When Government Censors Religious Views, It Violates First Amendment
The government shouldn’t prevent Americans from expressing their religious beliefs. But that’s exactly what the state of Washington is trying to do. Brian Tingley is a licensed marriage and family counselor. For the past 20 years, Tingley’s deeply held religious beliefs have been the source of the guidance he offers his clients, who come to him…Ryan Gardner