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Newswise The Stonewall Riots often are cited as the beginning of the LGBTQ movement. However, recent research fromJason Shepard, chair and professor of communications at Cal State Fullerton, highlights how First Amendment law was both a weapon and shield in the expansion of LGBTQ rights.

Shepard can provide an in-depth perspective and researched-based context to LGBTQ rights discussions. His research examines the legal history of three 1950s and early 1960s cases in which the Supreme Court overturned the censorship of magazines by and for sexual minorities, and how that allowed LGBTQ Americans develop identity and community, laid the foundation for the future of LGBTQ rights law. Shepard summarizes his research in thisone-minute video.

ONEmagazine, published from 1953 to 1967, was the first widely distributed LGBT magazine in the U.S. It was banned from the mail in 1954.

"The cases I examined are another reminder of how powerful the U.S. Supreme Court is and has been in the history of our democracy. In 1958, the Supreme Court decided that America's first gay-rights magazine couldn't be banned from the U.S. mail. The decision allowed ONE magazine to connect gays and lesbians to a broader subculture that later launched the gay liberation movement."

Read Shepard's research in "The First Amendment and the Roots of LGBTQ Rights Law:Censorship in the Early Homophile Era, 1958-1962" published in theWilliam & Mary Journal of Race, Gender and Social Justice.

Jason Shepard, chair and professor of communications

Shepard teaches courses in the communications law and journalism. He has authored several books, including: "Privileging the Press: Confidential Sources, Journalism Ethics and the First Amendment," "Major Principles of Media Law," and "Ethical Issues in Communication Professions: New Agendas in Communications." He writes "Online Legalities," a regular column inCalifornia Publisher.Shepard also has published research inYale Journal of Law and Technology,Communication Law and Policy,Journal of Media Law & Ethics,Nexus Journal of Law and Policy,andDrake Law Review. Shepards research has been cited widely, including by a federal appellate court and in theNew York Times.

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Research reveals how magazine censorship in the 50s and 60s laid the foundation for future LGBTQ rights law - Newswise

Government officials in Thailand are threateningto censor coverage of anti-government protests, according to The Associated Press, targeting news outlets, a publishing house and a Telegram messaging app beingused by demonstrators.

The AP noted that atop official with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission confirmedthat it had been ordered to block access to the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

A police spokesman also reportedly confirmed an order allowingauthorities to censor news sites that are sharing information deemed distorted. A copy of the censorship request obtained by the AP showed that five online news sites and one digital broadcast were being targeted after showing live footage of the protests.

Same Sky, known for producing work in the past with controversial publications, was also searched by police, according to the news service, which added that copies of three books were taken and the publisher was told to come in for questioning.

Additionally, authorities have reportedly threatened to take action against those who promote the protests on social media.

Bangkok was put under a state of emergency last week at the start ofstudent-led protests against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and the monarchy, which have ramped up in recent days. Demonstrators say flaws in the country's constitution affected the outcome of last years general election.

While Thai officials are now reportedly threatening to silence demonstrators in an attempt to curb the protests,it doesnt appear that any of the censorship measures have been enacted.

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Thai authorities threaten to censor coverage of anti-government protests | TheHill - The Hill

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) Amid a year of contagion and turmoil, Chileans vote Sunday on whether to draft a new constitution for their nation to replace guiding principles imposed four decades ago under a military dictatorship.

The countrys conservative government agreed with the center-left opposition to allow the plebiscite a month after the outbreak of vast street protests that erupted a year ago in frustration over inequality in pensions, education and health care in what has long been one of South Americas most developed nations.

If approved, a special convention would begin drafting a new constitution that would be submitted to voters in mid-2022.

Chiles current constitution was drafted by the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, and was sent to voters at a time where political parties had been banned and the country was subject to heavy censorship.

It was approved by a 66%-30% margin in a 1980 plebiscite, but critics say many voters were cowed into acceptance by a regime that had arrested, tortured and killed thousands of suspected leftist opponents following the overthrow of an elected socialist government.

I think that many people went to vote out of fear, said political scientist Claudio Fuentes, who wrote a book about that plebiscite titled, The Fraud.

The current constitution has a flaw of origin, which is that it was created during the military dictatorship in an undemocratic process, said Monica Salinero, a 40-year-old sociologist who supports drafting a new charter.

The free-market principles embodied in that document led to a booming economy that continued after the return to democracy in 1990, but not all Chileans shared.

A minority was able to take advantage of good, privatized education, health and social security services, while others were forced to rely on sometimes meager public alternatives. Public pensions for the poorest are just over $200 a month, roughly half the minimum wage.

Recent polls have indicated heavy backing for a new constitution despite opposition from conservative groups, and expectations among many are high.

Luisa Fuentes Rivera, a 59-year-old food vendor, said hopes that with a new constitution we will have better work, health, pensions and a better quality of life for older people, and a better education.

But historian Felipe Navarrete warned, Its important to say that the constitution wont resolve the concrete problems. It will determine which state we want to solve the problems.

Claudia Heiss, head of the political science department at the University of Chile, said it would send a signal about peoples desires for change, and for a sort of politics that would allow greater inclusion of sectors that have been marginalized from politics.

Conservative groups fear the revamp could go too far, and endanger parts of the constitution that have helped the country prosper.

The people have demonstrated saying they want better pensions, better health, better education. and the response of the political class is a process that wont solve the problems and will open a period of uncertainty, said Felipe Lyon, 28-year-old lawyer and spokesman for the group No, Thanks that opposes the change.

The decision to allow the vote came after hundreds of thousands of Chileans repeatedly took to the streets in protests that often turned violent.

The vote was initially scheduled for April, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed some 13,800 Chileans, with more than 500,000 people infected by the new coronavirus.

Officials trying to ensure voters feel safe are barring infected persons or those close to them from the polls. Voters must wear masks dipping them only briefly for identification purposes and must bring their own pencils.

The manner of drafting a new constitution is also on Sundays ballot. Voters will choose between a body of 155 citizens who would be elected just for that purpose in April, or a somewhat larger convention split equally between elected delegates and members of Congress.

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Chileans vote on whether to rewrite dictatorship-era charter - Associated Press

The Menlo Park Library hosts Ladera resident John Billheimer virtually in a talk about his Edgar Award-winning dive into the fascinating career of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, who spent a career battling and finessing the Motion Picture Production Code. The talk takes place on Tuesday, October 27 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. Register online.

Throughout his career, Alfred Hitchcock had to deal with a wide variety of censors attuned to the slightest suggestion of sexual innuendo, undue violence, toilet humor, religious disrespect, and all forms of indecency, real or imagined.

During their review of Hitchcocks films, the censors demanded an average of 22.5 changes, ranging from the mundane to the mind-boggling, on each of his American films. Code reviewers dictated the ending of Rebecca (1940), absolved Cary Grant of guilt in Suspicion (1941), edited Cole Porters lyrics in Stage Fright (1950), decided which shades should be drawn in Rear Window (1954), and shortened the shower scene in Psycho (1960).

In Hitchcock and the Censors, the author traces the forces that led to the Production Code and describes Hitchcocks magician-like touch when negotiating with code officials and sidestepping censorship to produce a lifetime of memorable films.

John Billheimer is the author of two mystery series; one with West Virginia failure analyst Owen Allison, and the other featuring Ohio sportswriter Lloyd Keaton. He has taught courses in film noir, hard-boiled fiction on film, and the modern mystery in film and print at Stanford and Santa Clara Universities.

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Author John Billheimer talks about Hitchcock and the censors on October 27 - InMenlo

Overheard While Waiting to Vote in Doylestown. An older man with a Veteran's baseball cap was speaking with a younger man. They didn't seem to know each other. The young guy was asking about his military service. Vet told some stories about being in Viet Nam. Vet says something like "Trump would have been fragged in Nam". Then says the officer who planned the Bin Laden raid voted for Biden, he read it in the Wall Street Journal. Looked it up - worth sharing (from The Hill):

McRaven describes himself in the op-ed as pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, small-government, strong-defense and a national-anthem-standing conservative.

However, he wrote, I also believe that black lives matter, that the Dreamers deserve a path to citizenship, that diversity and inclusion are essential to our national success, that education is the great equalizer, that climate change is real and that the First Amendment is the cornerstone of our democracy.

We need a president who understands the importance of American leadership, at home and abroad. We need a leader of integrity whose decency and sense of respect reflects the values we expect from our president. We need a president for all Americans, not just half of America, McRaven wrote.

The retired admiral has been critical of President Trump in the past. In 2018, he wrote that Trump has "embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation."

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Neighbor discussion: Why are you censoring and/or not allowing comments on the... - Patch.com