Free Speech News

When it comes to threatening the free speech rights of American citizens, progressives have largely been the culprits at the federal level. Yet increasingly, Republican state legislators have taken up this crusade. Last month, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez rightly vetoed a Republican-supported bill that would have forced nonprofits to disclose their supporters’ personal information, saying…

There seems to be a serious disconnect nowadays between what conservatives are, and what they are accused of being. Campus leftists thoughtlessly dub conservatives “racists” and “homophobes,” and regularly fling those epithets on both conservative students and right-leaning speakers who come to campus. This misunderstanding of conservative values is deeply unfortunate, and it comes amid…

Free speech has become anything but. Instead of engaging in productive dialogue to understand different viewpoints, people are lining up to shut down conversation. Sadly, these days the exercise of “free speech” comes at a price—bodily harm, verbal abuse, etc. This trend is most evident on college campuses via the “safe space” movement. Students at…

For more than 60 years, the federal government has been sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong, threatening to punish houses of worship and their leaders for what they say. The Free Speech Fairness Act was introduced in Congress earlier this week and, if enacted, would go a long way toward ending that. Ever since…

Millions of Americans will go to the polls Nov. 8 and vote. These Americans are a cross section of society; they are diverse, with many different opinions, political views, areas of interest, and sources of knowledge that inspire their choices. Such a robust civil society is part of what makes our country great. This civil…

The incredible ingenuity of the American people invented the internet—one of the most transformational technologies in human history. But even though we created and paid for the internet, we did not keep it for ourselves; we shared it for the benefit of all humanity. That spirit of freedom and generosity is the very essence of…

The University of Chicago’s president, Robert J. Zimmer, wrote a Wall Street Journal article, titled “Free Speech Is the Basis of a True Education.” In it, he wrote: Free speech is at risk at the very institution where it should be assured: the university. Invited speakers are disinvited because a segment of a university community…

Most Americans are familiar with the scandal at the IRS targeting conservative groups, but how widespread is the attempt to silence free speech and political activity? Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel says it’s one of the biggest threats to our democracy. She sat down with The Daily Signal to talk about her new book,…

The role of colleges and universities in America used to be to encourage intellectual thought and discussion. But Charles Kesler, one of America’s most prominent conservative professors and a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, says free speech and thought are under assault on campuses around the country. Today’s liberal campus protesters, Kesler says in…

A district court judge in Mecosta County, Mich. has ordered a former pastor, Keith Eric Wood, to be arrested for felony obstruction of justice and misdemeanor jury tampering. His crime? Wood distributed a pamphlet (available here) on jury rights and jury nullification—when a jury believes the defendant is guilty but returns a “Not Guilty” verdict…

Critics of the current campaign process for state and federal offices are urging states and Congress to require nonprofit advocacy organizations to disclose the identities of their donors to the government, and thus the public, when they engage in political speech and discussion of public policy issues that might have an effect on an election….

One of the rights we should celebrate (and cherish) during Liberty Month is freedom of speech. Another is our ability to freely choose our representatives in local, state and federal elections. Freedom to speak on public policy issues as well as on candidates and politics is directly related to the election process. Indeed, that freedom…