A 34-year-old student at Iowa State University is suing the school over what he calls an “unconstitutional speech code.” The student, Robert Dunn, says the university is forcing him to compromise his First Amendment rights by complying with “overly broad and vague” anti-discrimination and harassment policies. Failing to agree to abide by the policies, he…
Two federal appeals courts last week issued decisions on challenges to coronavirus-related executive orders by the governors of Illinois and Louisiana. In each case, churches and religious organizations challenged a governor’s restrictions on meeting in person at houses of worship while allowing other group activities to proceed, saying those orders violated the First Amendment. Illinois…
A frequent criticism levied at those who oppose widespread gun control is that they want to return to a kind of Wild West of violence and criminality. But now, ironically, more and more people on the left are pointing to the Old West as a model for gun control. They say that conservatives are wrong to…
What would it take for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Independent Women’s Law Center, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Gun Owners of America, and the Human Rights Campaign and the Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund to be found in the same trench fighting the same opponent? Nothing less…
Can the government prohibit what a therapist says to a client behind closed doors? March 31, in an 8-1 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court answered that question with a firm “No.” But the fact of an overwhelming majority of the court—eight justices—also suggests the narrowness of the opinion itself. Indeed, Justice Neil Gorsuch’s majority opinion…
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage, conservative lawmakers put forth a plan they claim will protect “many of the millions of Americans who voted to define marriage as an exclusively male-female institution.” But will that plan protect the Washington florist being sued by the state for acting on her…
Last week, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito gave a blistering keynote speech on a range of topics for the Federalist Society’s national convention, held virtually this year. The speech, which conservatives applauded for Alito’s forthrightness, was also controversial. Alito did not shy away from offering his professional perspective on law and commenting on cultural issues,…
The White House Correspondents’ Association filed a brief Monday expressing support for Playboy reporter Brian Karem’s lawsuit after his press pass was revoked by the White House earlier in August. Karem, also a CNN political analyst, got into a verbal confrontation with former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka in July. A video appeared to show Gorka yelling at…
The data is in: Americans are flocking to gun stores in unprecedented numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The spike has left many gun control advocates struggling to find a motive other than pure, irrational panic. After all, the common narrative goes, “the good guy with a gun” is a myth and it’s very rare that…
Before voters approved a constitutional amendment to make their state the 28th in the nation to ban private funding of election administration, Wisconsin’s capital city, Madison, already had spent over $1 million in private grants. Madison, like jurisdictions in three other states that ban private dollars from paying for elections—Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri—is a member…
Judicial activism causes harm. The Obergefell ruling written by Justice Anthony Kennedy will likely cause four distinct types of harm to the body politic: to constitutional democratic self-government, to marriage itself, to civil harmony, and to religious liberty. It’s a major theme of my forthcoming book “Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom.” 1)…
The National Defense Authorization Act, currently making its way through the Republican-controlled U.S. House, includes language encouraging the secretary of defense to allow immigrants who are in the country illegally to serve in the military. The provision asks Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to consider making those who were approved for deferred deportation under President Obama’s…
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—After pro-life leaders rejected President Donald Trump’s admonition to be “a little bit flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, some White House officials are looking to walk back that statement, three sources familiar with the administration’s thinking told The Daily Signal. Many pro-life leaders objected to the call to be flexible on…
Government workers who don’t want to join unions should be able to “opt in” rather than “opt out” of union fees that finance political activism, some California teachers argue. “Unions don’t want people to know how to opt out; they harass you and bully you once you do try,” @4kidsandcountry says. Unless the nation’s highest…
After Twitter CEO Elon Musk teased a massive reveal Friday afternoon, journalist Matt Taibbi released a Twitter thread revealing the confusion at the social media company after it censored the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. Taibbi’s Twitter thread, which Musk retweeted, revealed that Twitter’s top…
The Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage has left many concerned about protecting freedom for everyone who believes that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Among them are law professors Richard W. Garnett, John D. Inazu and Michael W. McConnell. In a characteristically thoughtful essay at Christianity Today, they argue that post-Obergefell,…
A Texas social media law designed to curb political censorship violated tech platforms’ First Amendment rights, a federal court found on Wednesday. Judge Robert Pitman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking HB 20, signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, in early September, and declared it…
A federal district court judge ruled last week that several of Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 restrictions were unconstitutional—and for good reason. Judge William Stickman IV’s development of the factual record, and his journeyman approach to the opinion, is a model for other judges to follow. >>> What’s the best way for America to reopen and return to…
The Trump administration has reversed the policy implemented by the Biden administration that reimbursed service members and their authorized dependents in the Department of Defense for expenses incurred in traveling across state lines to get abortions. The new Trump policy, announced Wednesday, comes less than a week after Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee as…
Last week, Catholic bishops in Minnesota and Lutherans in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod united to go against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s stringent order that only allowed 10 people at church services. Diana Verm, senior counsel with Becket Law, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss the stand they took that brought Walz, a Democrat, back…