The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution begins: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” Commitment to this freedom, once universally considered fundamental, may be on the rebound. In reviving a lawsuit over the University of Michigan’s censorship code, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reminded us how…
The first budget resolution to clear the Senate in four years exposed a divide between four lawmakers who look to be rivals for the Republican nomination for president. Although largely symbolic and perhaps short-lived, the split had Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida voting in favor of the Republican budget…
Last week, an off-duty Dallas police officer fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean inside his own apartment. The officer—since identified as Amber Guyger, a four-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department—was also a resident in the same apartment complex, and claims she shot Jean after walking into the wrong apartment and mistaking him for a home…
The Obama administration refuses to enforce federal law that protects Americans’ freedom of conscience, a Christian legal aid group says. In 2014, California began mandating that employee health plans cover elective abortions. A state agency is refusing to exempt churches from the mandate, said Casey Mattox, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom. “Churches should never…
Saying anything you like—or refraining from saying whatever you want—is one of the most fundamental rights in a free nation. Without it, the First Amendment is worthless. The Supreme Court just heard arguments in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, the case of Lorie Smith, a Colorado graphic designer who refuses to create websites with messages…
Two Democratic senators—Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana—who initially voted in favor of a Republican amendment reversing President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline later reversed themselves and voted with other Democrats to kill the amendment. Both Tester and Manchin voted late Thursday night for the amendment from…
The Constitution separates power, the administrative state fuses it. The Constitution gives Congress the power to make law, the president the power to enforce law, and the courts the power to apply law to specific cases. The administrative state takes all three for itself. On Thursday, however, the Supreme Court delivered an important blow against…
At a time when many high-profile politicians are comfortable proposing laws that impose serious burdens on the right to keep and bear arms, including the mass confiscation of commonly owned firearms, it’s important to remember that those same firearms are regularly used by average Americans to defend their life, liberty, and property. While some gun…
COLUMBUS—Thousands of pro-life activists marched in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, calling for protections for the unborn and urging their fellow Ohioans to vote against an upcoming pro-abortion ballot measure. Ohio Issue 1, the Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative, would ban the state from interfering with “reproductive decisions,” including abortion—effectively enshrining the…
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of an elementary school student’s First Amendment rights after she was punished for adding the words “any life” to a picture of “Black Lives Matter.” The student, with the initials B.B., said she added the message while in first grade in 2021, inspired by a…
On April 5, the Supreme Court declined to hear Biden v. Knight, a case involving the First Amendment and digital platforms. Justice Clarence Thomas agreed with the court’s decision, but wrote a concurring opinion to highlight what he considers to be the difficulties of “applying old doctrines to new digital platforms.” The case was originally…
Seven years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns, D.C. has lost another gun case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia—one that involves the very same plaintiff, Dick Heller. In the latest case, Heller v. District of Columbia, a three-judge panel has thrown…
“Free Speech defines us, and that is the awakening that we all have to try to work towards,” George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley says. Turley made his remarks on this week’s episode of “The Kevin Roberts Show” podcast. In his recent book, published in June, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an…
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that federal laws banning firearms dealers from selling handguns to customers under the age of 21 were unconstitutional. The United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said in the decision that there was no reason to treat the Second Amendment any differently from other constitutional rights citizens…
Just before the Christmas break, the D.C. City Council passed a law that could force pro-life organizations to pay for abortion coverage. But that wasn’t the only piece of bad legislation, violating religious liberty which came out of the D.C. Council in December. A new bill might force Christian schools to recognize an LGBT student…
As 2024 drew to a close, examples abounded of ordinary Americans whose Second Amendment rights proved to be the ultimate defense against criminals. While the facts of these defensive gun uses were different, none of these encounters is necessarily “unique.” In fact, reliance on armed self-defense is almost routine. Almost every major study has found…
Lawmakers took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of action on the constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. The House passed what would become the 19th Amendment to the Constitution by a vote of 304-90 on May 21, 1919. The amendment was ratified by…
Some U.S. Court of Appeals have a long history of issuing decisions that are demonstrably hostile to wedding artists seeking to exercise their First Amendment rights. Whether for wedding flowers or for custom designed wedding cakes, these courts have repeatedly circumvented the rights of business owners to both practice their religious freedom and refuse to…
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., has introduced an amendment to stop Democrats from blocking the closure of the Education Department. In the bill to fund the departments of Health, Labor, and Education, Democrats had inserted a provision to block funds previously appropriated to the Department of Education “for any activity relating to…
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Jan. 12 in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, a case that will decide whether public universities that infringe their students’ First Amendment right to free speech can be held accountable for it. The case was brought by Chike Uzuegbunam, who was a student at Georgia Gwinnett College from 2013 to 2017….