Daily Archives: October 24, 2013

Providence admits to violating a woman #39;s right to free speech
Providence gave about five hundred dollars to a woman whose right to free speech was violated after police removed her while she was on the street criticizing Cicilline.

By: WPRI

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Providence admits to violating a woman's right to free speech - Video

By Debra J. Saunders

San Francisco Chronicle

Published: October 24, 2013

Army veteran Robert Van Tuinen decided to celebrate U.S. Constitution Day on Sept. 17 by handing out copies of the Constitution at Modesto Junior College in California, where he is a student. If he had been at the University or California, Berkeley, or another politically correct campus, some liberal students probably would have picked an argument with him, maybe even accused him of hate speech.

But as this was Modesto Junior College, Van Tuinen didnt attract a lot of notice. Until, that is, a security guard told Van Tuinen that he couldnt hand out the Constitution. Or the Communist Manifesto, for that matter. On an edited video, Van Tuinen captured the guard explaining that passing out anything whatsoever, you have to have permission through the student development office.

An administrative aide at that office explained the schools policies for time-place-and-manner free-speech area. Students have to sign up in a binder to use a small designated space, and since two students already were protesting, Van Tuinen would have to wait his turn to speak freely and pass out literature. When Van Tuinen told her he just wanted to pass out copies of the Constitution, she asked, Umm, why?

Van Tuinen was appalled. When he served in Kuwait, he learned that the military doesnt put a high premium on free speech. Soldiers dont have the same rights as students, and the brass had little interest in his pontificating on the framers intent. Thats when I figured out the service wasnt the best place for me, he confided. But who knew that college life would be equally casual about stifling his self-expression?

Yes, Virginia, there is a California college campus where protest is not a major.

Let me confess. In this job, Ive observed campus protest at its best, that is to say, worst Berkeley students throwing incendiary objects at the chancellors home, tree-sitters camped in a campus grove for 20 interminable months and UC Davis paying a $1 million settlement to pepper-sprayed students. I cant help it, I find Van Tuinens story cute as a button.

But its not. Its not because campus personnel told a student he cannot give out copies of the U.S. Constitution. In a statement, college President Jill Stearns asserted, There is absolutely no requirement that a student register weeks in advance and hand out his literature only in a small marked area. But a security guard and staff binder suggest otherwise. The very fact that a campus has a two-person free-speech zone troubles Robert Shibley, vice president for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which has aided Van Tuinen in the free-speech lawsuit he filed against the college.

Read more:
Vet’s constitution won’t allow restriction of free speech

This is the third day of Free Speech Week, during which we will be celebrating freedom of speech by posting highlights from Catos recent work to support freedom of speech in its various forms, whether through legal advocacy, media appearances, or other public outreach.

Today we will highlight the First Amendment right of citizens to record on-duty police officers. This has been a controversial topic over the past few years, as police officers have in many instances reacted negatively, unprofessionally, or even illegally to being recorded by bystanders. While federal courts have now acknowledged the inherent First Amendment right of citizens to record public officials performing their duties, many officers still side-step the law and make arrests based on trumped up charges, like obstruction or delay of an officer.

The following Cato video featuring Radley Balko, Clark Neily, and David Rittgers gives a good overview of the importance of the right to record the police:

Also, a couple years back, I hosted a panel discussion at Cato on laws that prohibit recording the police. The video can be found here.

Being able to record the police is important because of the much needed accountability that it provides. Many of the stories and accounts Ive written about on Catos National Police Misconduct Reporting Project have only come to light because concerned citizens have stood up against police misconduct by recording itsometimes resulting in further abuse to themselves or their family. The ability to record and then speak out when something wrong happens goes to the heart of the First Amendment, which makes the fight over recording the police a good topic to remember on Free Speech Week.

For more information on Free Speech Week and to learn how you can help celebrate free speech, check out http://www.FreeSpeechWeek.org.

Read more here:
Free Speech Week — Wednesday