Category Archives: First Amendment

FOG Watch. Gray v. Lutheran Social Services (Rebuttal)
Fog Watch http://fogwatch.org/from-the-editor/fogwatch-discusses-the-jeff.html Link to the LSS Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS1ctPiU8Ok#t=139 Florida First Amendment Foundation ...

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FOG Watch. Gray v. Lutheran Social Services (Rebuttal) - Video

February 18, 2015, 10:55 AM Last updated: Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 10:56 AM

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) A federal judge says a strip club did not have its First Amendment rights violated when its brochures were removed from New Jersey highway rest areas.

P.R.B.A. Corporation, which runs the Bare Essentials club in Atlantic City sued in 2012 after an employee of HMS Host Toll Roads ordered that its brochures be removed from rest areas on the Atlantic City Expressway and Garden State Parkway.

The club operator argued that it was a First Amendment violation to bar one brochure because of what it was promoting.

But the constitutional free speech protections apply only to government entities, not private companies like Host, which has a contract to run toll road plazas.

In a Feb. 6 ruling, U.S. District Judge Renee Bumb found that Host could legally remove the brochures.

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Judge: No violation to remove rest-area strip club brochures

Edward Snowden on the First Amendment: Livestream in Hawaii
Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower on the run, spoke at ACLU Hawaii #39;s Davis Levin First Amendment Conference live, Feb. 14, 2015, via a video link from Moscow, Russia. His attorney, Ben...

By: Honolulu Civil Beat

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Edward Snowden on the First Amendment: Livestream in Hawaii - Video

Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - 10:43am

"Duck Dynasty" Star Phil Robertson will receive Citizens United's first amendment award at the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, next weekend in Maryland.

The controversial television star who was suspended for controversial remarks in 2013 has become a hero to conservatives supporting freedom of speech.

"In a time where conservative Christians are under attack by the media and pop culture, Phil Robertson continues to courageously stand by Truth and his convictions," said David N. Bossie, President of Citizens United in a release. "I can think of no better person to present the "Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award" to than Mr. Phil Robertson."

The award is named after Breitbart, former editor of the eponymous site who passed away in 2012. Conservative Radio star Mark Levin received the award last year.

Robertson, a devout Christian, was briefly suspended from the show for remarks he made about homosexuality in GQ magazine.

"It seems like, to me, a vagina---as a man---would be more desirable than a man's anus. That's just me. I'm just thinking: There's more there! She's got more to offer," he said. "I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I'm saying? But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man. It's just not logical."

After public protest, A&E Networks lifted the ban and let Robertson continue filming the highly successful show based on their lives in Louisiana.

CNN also learned Citizens United's next Freedom Summit will be held in South Carolina this spring. After the success of their Iowa Summit in January, which launched Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's current lead in some polls, the group is aiming to impact the first-in-the-South primary state as well.

The group came into the mainstream during the 2010 Supreme Court case, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee, which gave way to the creation of Super Pacs, groups that can take unlimited donations independent of a political candidate or party.

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'Duck Dynasty' star to win first amendment award

The controversial television star who was suspended for controversial remarks in 2013 has become a hero to conservatives supporting freedom of speech.

"In a time where conservative Christians are under attack by the media and pop culture, Phil Robertson continues to courageously stand by Truth and his convictions," said David N. Bossie, President of Citizens United in a release. "I can think of no better person to present the "Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award" to than Mr. Phil Robertson."

The award is named after Breitbart, former editor of the eponymous site who passed away in 2012. Conservative Radio star Mark Levin received the award last year.

Robertson, a devout Christian, was briefly suspended from the show for remarks he made about homosexuality in GQ magazine.

"It seems like, to me, a vaginaas a manwould be more desirable than a man's anus. That's just me. I'm just thinking: There's more there! She's got more to offer," he said. "I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I'm saying? But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man. It's just not logical."

After public protest, A&E Networks lifted the ban and let Robertson continue filming the highly successful show based on their lives in Louisiana.

CNN also learned Citizens United's next Freedom Summit will be held in South Carolina this spring. After the success of their Iowa Summit in January, which launched Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's current lead in some polls, the group is aiming to impact the first-in-the-South primary state as well.

The group came into the mainstream during the 2010 Supreme Court case, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee, which gave way to the creation of Super Pacs, groups that can take unlimited donations independent of a political candidate or party.

During her run for the Democratic nomination, the group released "Hillary: The Movie", which featured conservative politicians and activists giving their take on Hillary Clinton's record as former first lady and then-senator.

The Supreme Court ruled against the group, which protested bans on advertising it during the 2008 primary season.

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'Duck Dynasty' star to CPAC for Breitbart award

Courtesy of A&E Phil Robertson of 'Duck Dynasty'

Fourteen months after he sparked a major controversy for making remarks widely perceived as anti-gay, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has been named the recipient of a free-speech award from Citizens United, an organization routinely disparaged by Hollywood liberals.

Robertson will receive the "Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award" at this years Conservative Political Action Conference, which is better known as CPAC and is one of the biggest annual events for prominent movers and shakers on the right.

"When one does not have the freedom to speak out loud and anywhere what one believes, freedom is dead," said Robertson, who is set to receive his award at CPAC on Feb. 27 in National Harbor, Md.

The Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award was created more than a year ago, and the first one went to conservative radio host Mark Levin, given to him last year, also at CPAC.

Email: Paul.Bond@THR.com

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'Duck Dynasty' Star to Receive Free-Speech Award

The First Amendment...(Historically Speaking) - Episode #15
Frederick Douglass Dixon hosts this weekly program on UPTV.

By: UPTV6

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The First Amendment...(Historically Speaking) - Episode #15 - Video

RACHEL MADDOW 2015 First Amendment triumphs! Kirby Delauter
Aklama.

By: Rachel Maddow Show

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RACHEL MADDOW 2015 First Amendment triumphs! Kirby Delauter - Video

Woman Resigns After Boss Stopped Her From Saying God Bless You - Cynthia Fernandez
A female Toll-taker is suing her boss after resigning from her job because,she was told not to say #39;God Bless You to motorists.Cynthia Fernandez said her First Amendment rights were violated...

By: GossipNation

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Woman Resigns After Boss Stopped Her From Saying God Bless You - Cynthia Fernandez - Video

A recent email about the code of conduct was left untouched in most students inboxes, yet the new changes to Loyolas Student Code of Conduct are some of the largest inroads for students to voice their opinions on campus.

Our First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom to assemble are largely up to Loyola to interpret. Because Loyola is a private university, it can set its own standards to restrict students First Amendment rights. Although some changes seem inconsequential, others seem to attempt to stifle students voices.

The university altered the definition of assembly in its Student Code of Conduct. The guidelines explain that the act of two or more people protesting is considered a public expression.

This terminology seems to add some ambiguity to these guidelines. Would controversial T-shirts count as a public statement? Furthermore, two students who want to hand out flyers encouraging voter registration, or flyers condemning a university practice, would be severely restricted by this change in language. This new terminology is confusing and was created to give Loyola the power to determine what behaviors are too controversial.

There are also new stipulations on where Loyola students can assemble. The new guidelines state that demonstrations will be considered disruptive if they occur inside university buildings other than the Damen Student Center and Terry Student Center. This seriously limits the number of people that can protest at one time.

It is not a new practice for universities to designate areas for protesters, which are most commonly called designated public forums. However, the problem with the locations Loyola has designated is the serious space and location restrictions. Living southwest of campus, I rarely make it to the Damen Student Center, and a good deal of upperclassmen and commuter students most likely dont either.

The only open area in the Terry Student Center would be the entrance lounge area, which would severely block traffic since it is a stairwell, the entrance to Ninas Cafe and the entrance to Baumhart Hall. A protest focused in large open areas such as the quad would garner much more attention, support and notoriety. Loyola would rather have students protest off to the corners of the student center, which is not a centrally located campus gathering place.

Many social movements of the 1960s and 70s started on college campuses, attracting thousands of people. What if Loyola students wanted to start a large-scale demonstration, one that connected a community of people with similar values?

The Damen Student Center and Terry Student Center simply do not have the capacity to hold a large group of supporters, which is key to a successful movement. With these new guidelines, the university has the power to simply remove protestors outside of these designated zones. If the Loyola and Rogers Park community felt strongly enough about a certain issue, I would want us to stand up for what we believed in not be cordoned off to a designated zone.

These changes are serious attacks on students ability to express themselves. Yet some of the most disturbing restrictions were previously present in the student conduct handbook.

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University shortchanges students on speech policy