First Amendment

Read the latest news stories on first amendment rights on Newser.com

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Court: Call to Shoot Obama Is Free Speech

Court clears Walter Bagdasarian for exhorting people to 'shoot the [racial slur]'

(Newser) - The First Amendment protects even racists calling for the president’s assassination, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today, overturning the conviction of Walter Bagdasarian. Bagdasarian was convicted of threatening to kill a presidential candidate two weeks ahead of the 2008 election for an online rant in which he...

Group Sues to Stop Perry's Prayer Day

Texas governor shouldn't have endorsed event, group argues

(Newser) - The amusingly named Freedom from Religion Foundation isn't happy with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and it's filed a lawsuit claiming that he's violated the First Amendment ban on government-endorsed religion. Perry organized and promoted a Christian prayer event that the group of atheists and agnostics now wants...

Supreme Court Strikes Down Violent Video Game Ban

California law banned sale of violent games to minors

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today struck down California’s never-enacted ban on selling or renting violent video games to minors, ruling that it violated the First Amendment. It was a 7-2 decision, with only Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer dissenting, Joystiq reports. “Like the protected books, plays, and movies that...

Tennessee Makes Posting 'Distressing' Images Illegal

Constitutional scholars question updated law

(Newser) - Constitutional scholars are raising their eyebrows over a new Tennessee law that makes it illegal to “transmit or display” an image online if it would “frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress.” Doing so is punishable by almost a year in jail or $2,500 in fines. The...

Illinois Senate Approves Anti-Westboro Bill

Bill would require funeral protesters to stay extra 100 feet away

(Newser) - Westboro Baptist Church could soon find itself foiled in Illinois. The state Senate passed a measure yesterday that broadens the protection granted to funerals, requiring any protesters to remain at least 300 feet away from the site rather than the currently required 200 feet. The original House bill, proposed by...

At NYC Libraries, Porn Is A-OK

Your right to watch it is apparently protected by the first amendment

(Newser) - Some New Yorkers are enjoying an illicit perk at their local library: porn. Not just porn but, in the words of the New York Post , the most "extreme, hard-core Internet smut this side of the old Times Square." Turns out you can watch the aforementioned smut in the...

Supreme Court: Westboro Protests Protected

Pickets might be 'outrageous,' but covered by 1st Amendment

(Newser) - John Roberts' Supreme Court ruled 8-1 today that the controversial Westboro Baptist Church pickets outside military funerals might be "outrageous," but they're also protected under the First Amendment. The ruling upholds a reversal of a lower court's $5 million award to a dead Marine's father, who sued Westboro...

Twitter Shows Some Spine Over First Amendment
Twitter Shows Backbone
Over First Amendment
OPINION
Jan 12, 2011 3:01 PM CST

Twitter Shows Backbone Over First Amendment

'Wired' columnist: Other tech companies should follow suit

(Newser) - When the US government told Twitter to hand over its information about WikiLeaks figures, the company did what is so unfortunately rare these days, writes Ryan Singel at Wired . It "beta-tested a spine" and stood up for the First Amendment. The easiest course of action would have been to...

Assange Could Face Espionage Act Charges

Ecuador, meanwhile, offers WikiLeaks founder residency

(Newser) - The US government is trying to pin Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks cohorts with charges under the Espionage Act—a 1917 law that predated various Supreme Court cases expanding First Amendment protections. The FBI is examining everyone who came into possession of the State Department cables that leaked yesterday, sources...

O'Donnell: Constitution Separates Church, State?

Delaware Tea Partier doesn't know the First Amendment

(Newser) - Christine O'Donnell apparently doesn't subscribe to the view that the Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, CBS News reports. "Where in the Constitution is (that)?" she asked Senate candidate Chris Coons during a debate over whether schools should be allowed to teach intelligent design. It prompted laughs...

Do We Have the Right to Lie?
 Do We Have the Right to Lie? 
Sep 8, 2010 12:25 PM CDT

Do We Have the Right to Lie?

A case puts pressure on the power of the First Amendment

(Newser) - Xavier Alvarez was never a Detroit Red Wings player, or married to a Mexican celeb. But he told those lies, along with a third—that he was a former Marine who had received the Congressional Medal of Honor—and was charged with a felony under the Stolen Valor Act of...

Utah Highway Crosses Violate Constitution: Court

'Massive' crosses violate separation of church, state

(Newser) - Erecting roadside crosses for fallen members of Utah's Highway Patrol is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has decided. The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals, addressing a lawsuit launched by an atheist group, said the memorials—which typically stand twelve feet high and include photographs and biographical information—constitute government...

Sarah, Newt Don't Get the First Amendment
Sarah, Newt Don't Get
the First Amendment
OPINION
Aug 19, 2010 1:54 PM CDT

Sarah, Newt Don't Get the First Amendment

Here's a little Constitution lesson for them both

(Newser) - What is up with politicians misrepresenting the First Amendment this week? First Newt Gingrich, arguing against the Ground Zero Mosque, claimed Nazis " don't have the right " to put a sign next to the Holocaust museum. Then Sarah Palin tweeted that N-word-spewing Dr. Laura’s “ 1st Amend.rights...

Drop the Victim Schtick, Dr. Laura

She's no martyr, and doesn't deserve this 'pity party'

(Newser) - Following her N-word-filled tirade , Dr. Laura Schlessinger pulled the plug on her radio show…in the whiniest way possible. She wants to regain her First Amendment rights? Uh, then she certainly has “a poor grasp of what the First Amendment does,” writes Joan Walsh on Salon . “It...

Looks Like Bribery's Legal
 Looks Like Bribery's Legal 
OPINION
Aug 18, 2010 6:20 AM CDT

Looks Like Bribery's Legal

Messy campaign finance system explains Blago verdict: Scott Turow

(Newser) - An Illinois jury's failure to convict Rod Blagojevich on bribery-related charges despite damning evidence starts to make sense when you look at America's shambolic campaign finance system, argues Scott Turow. The huge number of loopholes, together with the Supreme Court's decision to lift restrictions on corporate campaign donations, has turned...

Violent Video Games Get Supreme Court Date

State wants to ban sale, rental of violent games to minors

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a case that will determine whether California can regulate violent video games. The court will review a lower court's decision to throw out the state's ban on the sale or rental of violent games to minors; the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in...

May 20 Is 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day'

Blogger's idea is taking off

(Newser) - Get your pens, ready: May 20 is now "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," declares Dan Savage's blog at the Stranger . It's in support of the South Park creators and gaining steam. Michael Moynihan at Reason will be accepting submissions, and Allahpundit is giving it a push at Hot Air...

Supreme Court Voids Ban on Animal Cruelty Videos

Aimed at crush videos, law too broad, says majority

(Newser) - The Supreme Court struck down a federal law today aimed at banning videos that show graphic violence against animals, saying it violates the right to free speech. The justices, voting 8-1, threw out the criminal conviction of Robert Stevens of Pittsville, Va., who was sentenced to three years in prison...

Supreme Court Takes on Anti-Gay Funeral Protest Case

Father of slain soldier wants damages from Westboro Baptist Church

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit against the Westboro Baptist Church, the band of religious zealots who hold anti-gay protests at the funerals of slain soldiers. The case is being brought by the father of a Marine killed in Iraq, whose son's funeral was targeted by the...

USC Prof Fights Terror Charge for Backing Kurds

Supreme Court case puts law to test

(Newser) - A USC professor and human rights activist heads to the Supreme Court next week to fight terror charges for supporting Turkey's Kurdish minority. Ralph Fertig, 79, is a self-described pacifist who says he counseled local leaders on how to peacefully pursue their cause. Those leaders, however, may have been members...

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