Gun Controllers Insist 'Congress Knows' How to Prevent Attacks Like the Jacksonville Shooting, but No One Actually Does
None of the usual solutions seems apt.
Civil Liberties
More Guns, Less Crime? Reason/Soho Forum Debate in NYC on Sept. 13
Criminologist Gary Kleck and former head of the Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence Paul Helmke will debate defensive gun use.
Another "Stop Talking About Him" Court Order, This One Obtained by Convicted Securities Fraudster
Tracy Zona was ordered to "remove forthwith, all references to petitioner the family and legal representatives and make no further posting in re of any kind"; she was then ordered to spend five days in jail unless she removed the posts (which she did).
Federal Court: First Amendment Protects Feeding the Homeless—Sort Of
Referencing Shakespeare, the Bible, and American colonial times, a federal court rules in favor of a group's right to feed the homeless.
Missouri Might Imprison You for False Meat Advertising
A state law says you can't call it meat unless it's actually beef, pork, or poultry. Critics say the bill violates the First Amendment.
Trump Doesn't Like What People See When They Search 'Trump News'
Threatened regulations on "fake news" would be an attack on press freedom
Defense Distributed Lawyer Josh Blackman on 3D-Printed Guns and Free Speech: Podcast
Cody Wilson's attorney talks guns, speech, and "Lochner-izing the First Amendment."
President Trump Says "Google Search Results" are "RIGGED," "a Very Serious Situation" That "Will Be Addressed"
But would the First Amendment allow Congress to regulate search results?
Senator Ron Wyden (Co-Author of § 230) Trying to Pressure Internet Companies to Restrict "Indecent" Ideas?
That's how I read his item last week in TechCrunch, which warns Internet companies that this might happen if they "fail to understand one simple principle: that an individual endorsing (or denying) the extermination of millions of people, or attacking the victims of horrific crimes or the parents of murdered children, is far more indecent than an individual posting pornography."
Trump Says His Crummy Google Results May Be a Crime: Reason Roundup
Plus: "Sheriff Joe" Arpaio faces voters again, states go after sexual-assault NDAs, and Louisiana florists fight licensing exams.
How Trustworthy Does Facebook Think You Are?
Should we be concerned about a new system to keep track of real vs. fake news?
Rutgers Says: Professors' Facebook Opinions Can Be Punished for Disrupting "the University's Core Function of Educating a Diverse Student Body"
Prof. James Livingston (white himself) said he "hate[s] white people" -- but Rutgers' reasoning would equally punish professors who express a wide range of views that offend people with a particular religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the like.
Rabbinical Law, The 5th Amendment, and Michael Cohen's Guilty Plea
The same civil liberties that protect accused communists or street criminals may also protect the president or his lawyer. They protect us all.
Brett Kavanaugh, Abortion, and 'Settled Law'
Don't assume Roe v. Wade will be safe with Justice Kavanaugh.
ACLU on the NRA's Lawsuit Against N.Y. Gov. Cuomo
The NRA accuses N.Y. government officials of unconstitutionally pressuring financial services companies into not dealing with the NRA -- an ACLU friend-of-the-court brief says, "If true, those allegations represent a blatant violation of the First Amendment."
ACLU Sticks Up for the NRA?!
The civil rights group and the gun rights group don't always get along. But today the ACLU stuck up for the NRA against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Reporter Says She Was Cuffed for Photographing a Cop in Public
Prosecutors have declined to file charges against the officer.
Saudi Arabia Wants To Execute a Female Activist for Protesting the Government
Israa al-Ghomgham would be the first female activist to be executed in Saudi Arabia.
Netherlands Prosecuting Man for Insulting Turkish President Erdogan
The insults were in e-mails sent to the Turkish embassy.
Trump Is No Match for the First Amendment
Far from undermining freedom of the press, the president's fulminations prove its durability.
Rap Song = Punishable True Threat, Says Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The court stressed that the song threated particular police officers by name.
Prison Inmates in at Least 17 States Are Going on Strike Today
"For some of us it's as if we are already dead, so what do we have to lose?"
A New Report Details Pro-Trump Censorship of Liberty University's Student Paper
"I didn't feel comfortable being told what I couldn't write about by President Falwell."
Extortion and Super-Secret Prior Restraints
An Oklahoma case involving an employee's allegations of food plant contamination-litigated under seal.
This Liberal Carried an American Flag to Protest Fascism in Portland. Antifa Cracked His Head Open With a Bat.
Masked Antifa agitators told Welch, a Hillary voter, to hand over the flag. He resisted. They attacked.
The Senate Accused Them of Selling Kids for Sex. The FBI Raided Their Homes. Backpage.com's Founders Speak for the First Time.
An inside look at how indie media veterans James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.
"A Court Cannot Tell [Anyone] That He or She Cannot Be Rude, Insulting, or Boorish"
Words of wisdom from Rhode Island Judge Richard Licht.
Air Marshals Secretly Followed an Artsy Virginia Mom on Flights to Make Sure She Wasn't Going to Destroy America
More details emerge on TSA's secret, suspicionless surveillance of certain American travelers.
Why the New Winnie the Pooh Movie Is Banned in China
A story of censorship in the age of memes
After China Complains, Apple Removes Thousands of 'Illegal' Gambling Apps
It's not the first time Apple has bowed to China's censorship demands.
Kevin McCarthy Shows Why the Government Shouldn't Regulate Social Media
The House majority leader doesn't understand how Twitter works.
Surprise! The Ban on Digital Sex Ads Didn't Work
Plus: digital privacy concerns down 11 percent since 2015
Visitors Wearing "Abolish ICE" T-Shirts Barred from Statue of Liberty
Unconstitutional viewpoint-discrimination, and the Park Service has acknowledged it was a mistake.
Fifth Circuit Rejects Constitutional Challenges to "Campus Carry"
Texas, like some other states, allows law-abiding adults who have concealed carry licenses to carry at public universities as well as elsewhere; this was challenged on First Amendment, Second Amendment, and Equal Protection Clause grounds.
Security Bars Couple From Statue of Liberty for Wearing 'Abolish ICE' Shirts
Tiffany Huang and her fiancé just wanted to exercise their "right to free speech." But security guards apparently had other ideas.
Delaware Court Rejects Temporary Restraining Orders Against Alleged Libel
Even if permanent injunctions against speech that has been found to be libelous are constitutional, preliminary orders based on a mere finding that the speech is likely libelous -- or just might be libelous -- are generally unconstitutional.
Judge Threatens Censorship After Newspaper Reveals Bureaucratic Errors in Parkland Lead-Up
"If I have to specifically write word for word exactly what you are and are not permitted to print…then I'll do that," the judge said.
A Georgia Police Chief Is Convinced His Department Was Right to Tase a Grandmother
The 87-year-old woman was cutting dandelions with a kitchen knife.
Cars Could Be the Latest Instrument of Assault to Be Banned in London
London already has restrictive gun and knife controls. Could cars be next?
Can a Baker Be Forced to Make a Transgender Celebration Cake?
Masterpiece Cakeshop is back with a new lawsuit over another rejection.
Two Dozen Sad Nazis Cost D.C. at Least $2.6 Million
White nationalists were vastly outnumbered by counterprotesters at Sunday's Unite the Right II rally, but the whole affair cost the District millions.
Twitter Caves, Bans Alex Jones. For a Week. Sort Of.
The conspiracy theorist's account has been restricted for seven days.
Muslim Male Inmate Objects to Strip Search by Apparently Anatomically Female Transgender Guard
An interesting case now being litigated in federal court in Wisconsin.
Matt Welch Interviews Zach Weissmueller, Libertarian State Rep. Brandon Phinney & More on Sirius XM!
From the alt-right to Twitter deactivation, bands drinking booze to presidents crowing for cronyism, we'll hash it out on Sirius XM Insight channel 121 today from 9-12 ET
Missouri Democrats Retract Welcome to Pro-Life Voters
Pro-life and a Democrat? Missouri's Democratic Party isn't interested.
Feminists Rally to Defense of Female Professor Accused of Sexual Harassment by Male Student
#MeToo madness: it's wrong to use Title IX, a feminist tool, "to take down a feminist."
