Archive for the ‘First Amendment’ Category

Anti-Semitism and the First Amendment | | khq.com – KHQ Right Now

Across the nation, college students are taking up the cause of Israel and Palestine through protests. Beyond those engaged in honest debate over the Israel-Palestine conflict are hate-mongers: people who use this as an opportunity to spread antisemitism. My client, Accuracy in Media, has been busy exploring and documenting these issuesnot without a host of criticism thrown its way.

Recently, some elite college students have labeled Hamas liberation fighters and others imagine Israel to be a settler-colonial oppressor. Hard to imagine: the same Hamas that massacred babies and children is being compared to the likes of General Eisenhower. As Ezekiel Emanuel noted in the New York Times, some American colleges have failed to give students the ethical foundation and moral compass to recognize the basics of humanity. In such a moral vacuum, antisemitism is bound to proliferate.

Throughout American history, certain justice-seekers have stepped forward to expose prejudices and call attention to public wrongs using unorthodox techniques. In 1966, the NAACP of Mississippi moved forward to address racial inequity by proposing a set of demands and then later protesting and boycotting when they were denied. This eventually led to NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. before the Supreme Courta significant First Amendment victory upholding the right of peaceful boycotting. And it was no less than the liberal lion, Justice Brandeis, who commented that publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman. Today, it is Accuracy in Media shining that righteous light of publicity on societys deep-seated prejudices.

Recently, some have levied criticism against Accuracy in Medias unorthodox efforts to expose ignorance and hate on Americas elite campuses. Through its investigative journalism program, Accuracy in Media has scoured college protests about the Israel-Palestine conflict. It has done the hard work to dig down and find the most hateful comments publicly issued by students and staff. It has also relied on very public proclamations issued by students in the plain light of day. And it has then taken a most necessary stepbringing public attention to those spreading hateful commentary. Some ask that Accuracy in Media be bashful about its findings about antisemitism. This would only be a disservice to tried-and-true journalism.

Others have inaccurately called Accuracy in Medias reporting doxingthat is, publishing private or identifying information about a particular individual on the internet [] with malicious intent. Some think of doxing as publishing already-available public information. But Accuracy in Media never does so with any intent to harm a person it reports about. Rather, it publishes to bring attention to statements subjects have made in public forums. Accuracy in Media often uses inexpensive mobile, digital billboards to bring attention to individuals it believes harbor dangerous antisemitic opinions. It also uses domain names to do the same. It does so using the same publicly available information anyone else can access. This just follows Justice Brandeis suggestion that publicity is the most effective means to address public prejudices. In a free society, if you elect to support hateful or ignorant positions you should also expect return commentary and attention. As First Amendment scholars are prone to comment, the answer to ignorant, hateful speech is more speechof the educational, enlightened variety.

Accuracy in Media takes a hard stance against real doxing or abusing the rights of any speaker. Indeed, the president of Accuracy in Media, Adam Guillette, has himself been the subject of real swatting and doxing attacks. But in todays upside-down world, Accuracy in Medias honest reporting is often confused with these forms of harassment. Let it be understood: Accuracy in Media respects all honest newsgathering and reporting. For those who seek to silence those who are honestly provocative, we share another message. Accuracy in Media will continue the work Justice Brandeis so heartily recommended as the best of disinfectants: shedding publicity on the ugly undercurrent of antisemitism on Americas campuses.

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Anti-Semitism and the First Amendment | | khq.com - KHQ Right Now

Personal Reflections: First Amendment and Religious Freedom | Opinion and Editorials | Lewiston Tribune | lmtribune … – Lewiston Morning Tribune

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Personal Reflections: First Amendment and Religious Freedom | Opinion and Editorials | Lewiston Tribune | lmtribune ... - Lewiston Morning Tribune

Fort Worth City Reinforces First Amendment Rights with True Texas Project Event Reinstatement at Botanic Garden – Hoodline

In an unexpected turn of events concerning the use of public spaces for private gatherings, the City of Fort Worth has reinstated an event reservation for the True Texas Project, which was previously canceled by the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), the manager the Fort Worth Botanic Garden on behalf of the City, according to an official statement from the city.

Slated for July 12-13, the gathering had fallen into a chasm of constitutional dispute, sparking a conversation about the rights afforded by the First Amendment; the City owns the Botanic Garden, meaning the location is subject to constitutional provisions including those covering freedom of speech and the BRIT's initial decision was overturned by the City's legal department after it came to light that access to the facility, cannot be restricted based solely on potential renters' viewpoints however well-intentioned to curate a certain kind of discussion within these publicly-owned confines such moves might be.

The City of Forth Worth officials were quick to note that the reinstatement of the True Texas Project's event doesn't signal an endorsement of the group's beliefs or opinionsthe move simply aligns with legal standards regarding the use of public forums. "The City and BRIT do not endorse or condone the beliefs, opinions, or viewpoints of groups or individuals who may rent its facilities," the City of Forth Worth clarified, emphasizing the neutral role of public spaces.

Reacting to the controversy, the City of Forth Worth revealed that staff are currently in the process of penning new guidelines for facility rentals, these updated policies aim to provide clear and consistent protocols for the future and the community can anticipate an update on these policies revisions in due time, ensuring that such debates are handled with a transparent and legally sound framework moving forward.

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Fort Worth City Reinforces First Amendment Rights with True Texas Project Event Reinstatement at Botanic Garden - Hoodline

Supreme Court Clears Way for N.R.A. to Pursue First Amendment Challenge – The New York Times

The Supreme Court sided with the National Rifle Association on Thursday, finding that the group could pursue a First Amendment claim against a New York state official who had encouraged companies to stop doing business with it after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for a unanimous court, found that the N.R.A. had plausibly claimed a violation of the First Amendment, reversing an appeals court decision and sending the case back for further proceedings. Although a government official is allowed to share her views freely and criticize particular beliefs, she wrote, that official may not use the power of the state to punish or suppress disfavored expression.

The case is one of two this term in which the justices have wrestled with when government advocacy crosses a constitutional line into coercion.

The dispute centers on whether Maria T. Vullo, who was a superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, had infringed on the free speech rights of the N.R.A. After a young man killed 17 people in a shooting at a school in Parkland, Fla., Ms. Vullo told insurance companies and banks that they should consider whether to provide services to the group.

Although Ms. Vullo was free to criticize the N.R.A. and pursue the conceded violations of New York insurance law, Justice Sotomayor wrote, she was not allowed to wield her power to threaten enforcement actions against companies regulated by her department in a way that would punish or suppress the N.R.A.s gun-promotion advocacy. The courts decision was in keeping with previous rulings that government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors, the justice added.

In a concurrence, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stressed the important distinction between government coercion, on the one hand, and a violation of the First Amendment, on the other. Coercion alone is not enough to violate the First Amendment, she wrote, adding that to determine whether the government has crossed a line, courts must assess how that coercion actually violates a speakers First Amendment rights.

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Supreme Court Clears Way for N.R.A. to Pursue First Amendment Challenge - The New York Times

SCOTUS unanimously backs NRA on First Amendment ruling – JURIST

The Supreme Court decided Thursday that government officials cannot indirectly suppress free speech through coercion, reinforcing their previous decision in Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan.

Justice Sotomayor, writing for a unanimous court, said a government official can share her views freely and criticize particular beliefs, and she can do so forcefully in the hopes of persuading others to follow her lead. In doing so, she can rely on the merits and force of her ideas, the strength of her convictions, and her ability to inspire others. What she cannot do, however, is use the power of the State to punish or suppress disfavored expression.

The NRA argued that this is what Maria Vullo, former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), did when she met with executives and sent guidance letters to insurance companies and financial institutions. During investigations into the NRAs affinity insurance providers following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, Vullo conducted meetings and sent guidance letters to overseas institutions, encouraging them to sever their ties to the NRA. These institutions had been underwriting insurance programs offered by the NRA to its members, including the Carry Guard program.

Justice Sotomayor expanded on the decision in Bantam Books, Inc., which stated the First Amendment does not permit government officials to use the threat of invoking legal sanctions and other means of coercionto achieve the suppression [of disfavored speech]. In this case, Vullo, as the superintendent of DFS, had direct regulatory and enforcement authority over all insurance companies and financial service institutions doing business in New York[she] could initiate investigations and refer cases for prosecution. Using her position, Vullo told Lloyds of London, who was facing violations of New York law, that she would focus her enforcement actions solely on the syndicates with ties to the NRA, and ignore other syndicates writing similar policies. The unanimous Court concluded, whether analyzed as a threat or as an inducement, the conclusion is the same: Vullo allegedly coerced Lloyds by saying she would ignore unrelated infractions and focus her enforcement efforts on NRA-related business.

The NRA posted a statement from President Bob Barr on X (formerly Twitter) following the ruling: Regulators are now on notice: this is a win for not only the NRA but every organization who might otherwise suffer from an abuse of government power. William Brewer, an attorney for the NRA, said the ruling was a landmark victory for the NRA and all who care about our First Amendment freedom.

Following the Courts ruling, the case is remanded to re-evaluate the First Amendment claims.

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SCOTUS unanimously backs NRA on First Amendment ruling - JURIST