With no opportunity to mount a defense, Maggie DeJong was banned by her university from speaking to three classmates because she expressed views those classmates opposed. With no defense of its own to mount when DeJong sued the school for violating her free speech rights, Southern Illinois University agreed to settle, paying her $80,000. The…
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced the withdrawal of his nomination of gun control activist David Chipman to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Biden’s move comes after Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, joined unified Republican opposition in the Senate to Chipman’s heading ATF. King caucuses with Senate Democrats. Some centrist Democrats also…
The First Amendment stands as a testament to one of the Founding Fathers’ core convictions: that man has an inalienable right to live out his deeply held religious beliefs, and that government’s proper role is to protect this and other inalienable rights. In the words of James Madison, “Conscience is the most sacred of all…
In April, members of the Supreme Court asked Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, the federal government’s top lawyer, if the administration could strip religious schools that believe marriage is the union of husband and wife of their tax-exempt status should the Court redefine marriage. Verrilli responded by saying “[i]t’s certainly going to be an issue.” Congress…
The conservative House Freedom Caucus is calling for Republican leadership in Congress to tie appropriations to fund the government next year to a recently passed House bill to prevent foreign nationals from voting in U.S. elections. In July, the House passed the SAVE Act—short for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. If enacted and signed…
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are bracing for what is likely to be a contentious hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill over legislation aimed at protecting individuals and organizations who hold traditional views about marriage and sexuality. The long-awaited hearing, called by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will…
As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the country, millions of Americans now live in states where shutdown orders effectively have stripped them of the ability to buy firearms. Although most states rightly have allowed gun stores to continue operating, a minority deemed them “nonessential businesses” that must close. Unfortunately, these ordered closures generally have occurred…
Editor's note: We asked to hear your views on making schools safer and keeping firearms out of the wrong hands, and you didn't let us down. We're dedicating all of today's space to your comments. As always, write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: As far back as recorded history goes, murder has been…
When Jake Hill heard that an atheist activist group had sued to have a historic World War I memorial pulled down because some people were offended by the monument’s Christian symbolism, the Marine got angry. “Americans of all faith backgrounds should be outraged,” Hill, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps, said. Hill, of Madison,…
Missouri’s new governor introduced a fresh dynamic into what was set to be the leading religious freedom case argued before the Supreme Court this year, and the first major case that new Justice Neil Gorsuch will hear. “We have hundreds of outstanding religious organizations all over the state of Missouri,” @EricGreitens says. The Supreme Court…
If we lose the Second Amendment, then the rest will fall. During my recent—and very contentious—congressional campaign, my opponent argued that he didn’t need to take your guns because he had enough of his own. Voters in western North Carolina didn’t buy it. There was no need to remind them that leftists have a long…
Democrat members of Congress have introduced legislation that would end the Hyde Amendment and permit taxpayer funding for abortions. The Hyde Amendment, attached to the appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services, prevents the use of federal taxpayer funding for elective abortions—or health insurance plans that cover abortions. Exceptions are made for…
Two states advanced proposals this week to amend their constitutions to require citizenship for voting. The South Dakota Senate voted 33-2 on Tuesday for an amendment banning noncitizen voting. Two days later, the Kansas House of Representatives voted 90-28 for a similar amendment to its state’s constitution. The amendments would still have to be passed…
The Supreme Court strengthened the separation of church and state Wednesday and, for once, that’s a good thing. The “separation” most people think of was created by the Supreme Court by interpreting the First Amendment’s ban on an “establishment of religion” far too broadly. That has fueled a campaign to keep religion, and even religious…
One hundred and fifty years ago this month, the 13th Amendment officially was ratified, and with it, slavery finally was abolished in America. The New York World hailed it as “one of the most important reforms ever accomplished by voluntary human agency.” The newspaper said the amendment “takes out of politics, and consigns to history, an institution…
For years, Congress has been sharply divided over a nuclear waste repository proposed for Yucca Mountain in Nevada. However, an appropriations amendment offered by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho—considered by the House Appropriations Committee and narrowly rejected Tuesday—is a reasonable, unobjectionable compromise that the Senate should take up in ongoing budget decisions. The Simpson amendment neither…
For more than 120 years, the Daughters of the American Revolution has brought together the female descendants of Revolutionary War heroes to promote "historic preservation, education, and patriotism." But now, faced with the prospect of biological men joining the esteemed society, DAR finds itself grappling with both resignations and indignation. DAR organizers passed an amendment…
Over the weekend, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law two pieces of bad legislation. These policies will saddle religious organizations and employers with a choice of complying with coercive laws that force them to violate their religious beliefs and organizational missions, or staying true to their beliefs in defiance of unjust laws….
Two conservative lawmakers plan to fight for term limits in the next Congress, saying the effort will foster accountability and complement President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., announced they will introduce a constitutional amendment that would limit members of the House to three two-year…
Democrats loudly condemned the arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon on Friday, but they have not condemned the invasion of a Minnesota church in the middle of a service—the incident for which Lemon faces charges. Lemon, now an independent journalist, has claimed that he covered the invasion of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,…