Tag: First Amendment

TikTok: America’s Do-Or-Die Moment With China

Originally published by Gatestone Institute Commentary Adi Robertson, The Verge’s senior tech and policy editor, makes an impassioned plea to not ban TikTok, China’s popular video-sharing app, on free speech grounds. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), speaking on the floor of the Senate on March 29, also raised First Amendment objections to a proposed TikTok prohibition. Nonetheless, it is…


New Jersey College Suspended Student for Preaching From the Bible on Campus

College student and street preacher Kombe Sefelino was suspended from the County College of Morris (CCM) in Randolph, New Jersey, for quoting the Bible and condemning homosexuality as a sin. But after he filed a federal lawsuit in March citing his First Amendment right to free speech, he is now allowed back on campus. The…


George Mason University President Responds to Students Protesting Commencement Address by Gov. Glenn Youngkin

George Mason University President Gregory Washington defended the University’s decision to have Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, give the spring 2023 commencement address, saying that universities are places for healthy debate and hearing ideas one may not agree with. The President of Virginia’s “most diverse” public university called on the school community to support free speech…


COVID Pandemic Measures Practically Suspended the Bill of Rights: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the key element of the response to the pandemic in America was to essentially take away the Bill of Rights, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling it a “coup d’etat against democracy by the military-medical-industrial complex.” At that time, the government began censoring speech for the first time in American…


New Virginia Law Is a Victory for Religious Liberty, Supporters Say

A new bill recently signed into law in Virginia will prevent the infringement of religious freedom, like the closure of churches during the COVID lockdowns, from happening again, by tethering places of worship to other “essential businesses.” Under the new law, if businesses like Costco and Target are allowed to remain open, so will places…


Christian Counselor Asks Supreme Court to Invalidate Law Forbidding Talk Against Gender Transitions

A licensed marriage and family counselor is asking the Supreme Court to strike down a Washington state law that prohibits counseling against gender transitions. Counselor Brian Tingley says the state’s counseling censorship law violates his freedom of speech and infringes on his religious faith and that of his clients by prohibiting certain private client-counselor conversations…


Hillary Clinton Memes Test Limits of First Amendment in Online Speech Trial

A trial with the potential to greatly alter modern online speech laws kicked off on Monday, with prosecutors accusing celebrity meme-maker Douglass Mackey of using memes in an attempt to steal votes from Hillary Clinton’s base during the 2016 election. Defendant Mackey, more widely known online as Ricky Vaughn—a reference to a fictional baseball pitcher…


Washington School District to Pay $1.8 Million in Legal Fees for Public Prayer Lawsuit

High school football coach Joe Kennedy has reached a $1.8 million settlement with the Washington school district that placed him on administrative leave in 2015 for praying on the field. The Bremerton School District Board of Directors voted unanimously on March 16 in favor of the settlement to cover Kennedy’s legal expenses. His attorneys took his…


College Trustee Starts Fundraiser for Potential Legal Action After Being Censured Over Meme

Community college trustee Dr. Luis Reynoso launched online fundraising early this month for potential legal action against the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District (CLPCCD) Board in California. The CLPCCD Board censured Reynoso in a heated board meeting on Feb. 22, followed by a slew of controversies and standoffs between Reynoso and the LGBTQ+ community. “The…


Supreme Court Sides With Offended Atheists in Lawsuit Against Florida City Over Prayer Vigil

The Supreme Court sided with atheists March 6 when it decided not to hear an appeal by a Florida city that sought to halt their lawsuit over a city-sponsored prayer vigil. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas objected to the court’s decision to deny the petition in City of Ocala, Florida v. Rojas, court file 22-278. The court majority…