Free Republic

The first and second amendments of the Bill of Rights are essential for supporting each other.   The first amendment is essential to support the second, while the second amendment provides the means to protect the first.   It is clear that the open carry of firearms is itself a strong political message.   Openly carrying a gun is protected political speech. In Texas, open carry activists have been pushing hard to have the right to open carry modern handguns restored.   It was lost during reconstruction when the carpet bagger government rewrote the state constitution.   Open carry activists have participated in hundreds,...

"Chilling" is the word lawyers use to describe governmental behavior that does not directly interfere with constitutionally protected freedoms, but rather tends to deter folks from exercising them. Classic examples of "chilling" occurred in the 1970s, when FBI agents and U.S. Army soldiers, in business suits with badges displayed or in full uniform, showed up at anti-war rallies and proceeded to photograph and tape record protesters. When an umbrella group of protesters sued the government, the Supreme Court dismissed the case, ruling that the protesters lacked standing -- meaning, because they could not show that they were actually harmed, they...

Ever had problems deciding EXACTLY where in a city park to protest or demonstrate something? Don't worry the Houston Parks Department has your back. For example at Bell Park it's at Latitude 29 degrees 43'46.20" N. Longitude 95 degrees 23'28.47" W

A California school district has refused to apologize to one of its students for previously banning him from mentioning God in his graduation speech, saying instead that it has an "obligation" to prevent sectarian speeches. Brooks Hamby, the salutatorian of Brawley Union High School in Brawley, California, made national headlines back in June when he ignored his school's attempts at censoring God from his graduation speech, instead giving an inspirational, Christian-oriented speech on the importance of standing up for one's beliefs. Now, one month after the controversial speech went viral online, lawyers for the Brawley Union High School District say...

The Heritage Foundation’s annual Scholar’s and Scribes event held on July 8th discussed the Supreme Court’s 2013 – 2014 term. The discussion about the cases focused around women’s health, the First Amendment, and racial discrimination. hobby lobby scotus protest A member of the scholars’ panel, John Malcom, Director of Legal and Judicial Studies at Heritage, remarked that this was an exceptionally good year for conservatives, although the positive results were achieved through narrow victories. The most recent case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, was the topic of an in-depth discussion. Due to the political backlash and misreporting about the decision from...

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...