Free Republic

The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday approved by a 10–8 vote a constitutional amendment that, if passed, would functionally eliminate the political rights of speech and association. While the committee made the language more succinct than in its original iteration, the law still poses a profound threat to fundamental liberties. For instance, Congress probably would have the power to ban religious sermons and church literature. Section 1 of the amendment permits Congress and the states to “advance democratic self-government” — whatever that means — “and political equality” by “regulat[ing] and set[ting] reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by...

Mr. Chairman, this is the single most radical and most dangerous proposal introduced in the 113th congress. If this proposal were adopted, it would repeal the free speech protections of the first amendment. The breadth of this proposal is astonishing. It should lead the evening news on every station. It saddens me that 46 democratic senators have signed their name to a constitutional amendment expressly repealing the free speech provisions of the Bill of Rights. Ted Cruz continues....

It's been almost a week since the Supreme Court issued their ruling on the Hobby Lobby case, and there appears to be no end in sight to the Left's outrage over the outcome. As expected, given the controversial nature of the issue at hand, most of the ire is reflexive and purely visceral. It's unlikely that many are taking the time to actually educate themselves on the Court's reasoning behind the decision. In their eyes, misogyny and religious fanaticism won out over women's rights, period. On the Right, there is a temptation to fall into essentially the same error: ascribing...

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) announced today that it is coordinating the filing of lawsuits against four universities as part of its new Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. FIRE logo The project goal is to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes at universities by targeting First Amendment violations and initiating lawsuits. First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere will serve as the leading counsel to students and faculty members participating in the project. “For 15 years, FIRE has fought for free speech on campus using public awareness as our main weapon, but more is needed,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff,...

Seldom in American history has the Supreme Court unanimously rejected positions advocated by presidents' administrations. But in this respect at least, President Obama has produced the fundamental transformation he promised in his 2008 campaign. Over the last three years, the Court has rejected Obama administration positions repeatedly in unanimous 9-0 decisions. A review of these cases reveals much about the governing philosophy of the Obama administration. One thing is abundantly clear, namely that this administration has a crabbed view of the First Amendment right of free exercise of religion. That is apparent not only in June's 5-4 decision ruling in...

Yesterday’s narrow Hobby Lobby decision shows why the culture war isn’t over – it’s just getting started. The reality is that in the absence of the ability to compel employers to pay for things over their religious objections, and at a time when covering 16 forms of birth control out of 20 is culturally insufficient, the Obama administration will be more than happy to turn to the traditional method of the left: skipping the middle man of the employer and just handing people other people’s money. So because some people cannot be compelled to pay for their employee’s IUDs, Plan...

In 1878, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a Mormon's First Amendment challenge to the federal ban on bigamy. Because marrying more than one person is a crime, the court reasoned, allowing it for religious reasons would be akin to allowing human sacrifice by someone who sincerely believes his deity demands it. The court had a point, but only if you accept the analogy between polygamy and murder. Likewise, critics of this week's Supreme Court decision concerning religious objections to Obamacare's birth-control mandate have a point, but only if you accept their argument that declining to pay for something is the...

Prof. Mark Rienzi, who won last week’s McCullen v. Coakley, and who litigates together with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, has these thoughts on Hobby Lobby; I thought our readers would be interested in them, so I’m passing them along. (Please note that these are Prof. Rienzi’s thoughts, on behalf of the Becket Fund, not my own.) * * * Here are a few initial thoughts on today’s decision in Hobby Lobby from the perspective of a law firm — The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — that has been litigating these cases against the Department of Justice across...

Two years ago, I sat on a panel before Congress, testifying to the importance of religious liberty in America today. It seems like a long time ago. Since then, we have seen and heard a steady stream of news, from the church and the culture, about the Health and Human Services’ mandate and the Affordable Care Act, abortifacients and the conscience, religious freedoms and what this means for women. Thankfully, the wait is over. The Supreme Court has ruled, and the verdict is in: In a landmark case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious liberty, specifically in regard...

First Amendment: The pen may be mightier than the sword, but President Obama's pen is not mightier than the Constitution or Americans' right to run businesses without sacrificing their religious beliefs and consciences. While the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in favor of Hobby Lobby and a furniture maker in Pennsylvania was limited to "closely held" for-profit businesses, and is limited to the contraception mandate, its effect could be one more Obama-Care thread unraveling under the weight of its own injustice and inefficiencies. The court has rightly decided that businesses such as Hobby Lobby, which is solely owned by founder David...

The Supreme Court’s ruling that employers with religious objections don’t have to comply with Obamacare requirements to provide contraception coverage sparked swift reaction on Capitol Hill.

The Supreme Court won't strike down Obamacare's contraception mandate, but a ruling for the law's challengers could still render the policy toothless for millions of women. The justices are set to rule any day now in a challenge to the birth-control mandate, and any decision against the policy would have ripple effects far beyond the two companies that filed this lawsuit. Just how far, however, depends on how broadly the Court rules—and it has plenty of options. No matter what happens, the Court won't strike down the entire mandate. The two companies that brought their challenge to the Supreme Court—Hobby...

The First Amendment, I think I’ll keep it. Not so for 44 sitting U.S. Senators — all Democrats. They’re proposing Senate Joint Resolution 19, which would amend the U.S. Constitution by scratching out a sorta important part of the Bill of Rights. Senate Joint Resolution 19 would repeal the First Amendment. Well, not all of it, actually: just our right to speak out politically, to engage in political action and campaign for or against those in power. The new amendment would remove all protections against Congress regulating our speech, at least insofar as we have to spend even a plug...

Did you know the Obama administration’s position has been defeated in at least 13 – thirteen — cases before the Supreme Court since January 2012 that were unanimous decisions? It continued its abysmal record before the Supreme Court today with the announcement of two unanimous opinions against arguments the administration had supported. First, the Court rejected the administration’s power grab on recess appointments by making clear it could not decide when the Senate was in recess. Then it unanimously tossed out a law establishing abortion-clinic “buffer zones” against pro-life protests that the administration supported (though the case was argued by...

College campuses are becoming increasingly hostile towards certain forms of speech. One of the main reasons for the hostility is the admission of students who are too emotionally immature to tolerate dissenting opinions. In addition to lacking emotional maturity, many of these students lack humility. They believe that their emotions trump the ideas of others. Obviously, I disagree. In fact, I think that these students need to be weeded out early in the college application process. I think I have a specific plan that can help make that a reality. We already ask students a lot of questions in the...

The Obama Administration apparently doesn’t approve of Freedom of the Press. Historically, U.S. journalists have reported all over the world during wars and conflict. Our brave journalists were at the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq reporting but according to federal agents the border is not safe enough to report from. Journalists are being told to leave the Anzalduas International Bridge which connects the city of Mission, Texas, with Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. This area has always been open to media to report on illegal crossings from Central America.

Colorado Christian University has won an important case against the Department of Health and Human Services contraception mandate. Instead of CCU being forced to provide employees and students abortifacients, a federal judge in Denver has ruled that the school can retain its religious freedom. It's a significant decision, and one that the Supreme Court will surely keep in mind as it prepares to decide on the high profile Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius case. The Becket Fund, a non-profit, public interest law firm who represented CCU in its lawsuit, emailed LifeNews the good news: In a carefully reasoned opinion, the court...

I gave a cursory read to the Code of Conduct in the updated Microsoft Services Agreement, which, among other things, states under Prohibited Uses states, You will not upload, post, transmit, transfer, distribute, or facilitate distribution of any content (including text, images, sound, video, data, information, or software) or otherwise use the service in a way that: ...Threatens...defames...degrades, victimizes, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals for any reason, including on the basis of age...sexual orientation, race or religion, or incites or encourages anyone else to do so. Obviously, this is purposely ambiguous and broad ("for any reason"!), but...

Brooks Hamby never wanted to be a rabble-rouser. He just wanted to thank Jesus in his high school graduation speech. But the Brawley Union School District in Brawley, Calif., said the references to Jesus and prayer in Brooks’ graduation speech were “inappropriate” and violated “prevailing legal standards.” School officials rejected three versions of the young man’s graduation address, and one administrator went so far as to redact every religious reference with a black marker – as if it were some sort of top secret government document. “The first and second draft speeches proposed oppose government case law and are a...

This young man, Brooks Hamby, was the salutatorian for his High School’s graduating class. When he submitted his speech to the school for approval, they told him that he would not be able to mention God. This is what he says in his speech: