California Ban on Handgun Ads at Gun Stores Violates First Amendment
So a federal judge just held.
Civil Liberties
ThinkProgress Accuses Facebook of Censorship After Conservative Factchecker Correctly Points Out an Error
"Brett Kavanaugh said he would kill Roe v. Wade last week." Except he didn't.
Democrats Created a Birth-Control Banning Bogeyman Out of Brett Kavanaugh. Called Out, Kamala Harris Doubled Down
Harris and other Democrats distorted Kavanaugh's comments on birth control to portray him as a religious extremist.
Then-Candidate Trump's Speech at Rally Wasn't Constitutionally Unprotected "Incitement" of Violence Against Protesters
So a Sixth Circuit panel just held, and it also concluded that the statements weren't actionable under Kentucky law.
Would Letting More People Carry Guns Reduce Crime?: Debate in NYC, 9/13
The next Reason/Soho Forum Debate pits criminologist Gary Kleck against former Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence President Paul Helmke.
Connecticut Prosecution for Forgery of Court Order, Aimed at Getting Patch.com Article Altered or Deindexed
The defendant, Imani Pennant, reportedly said that there's a web site that helps people create such orders.
Beware the Press's Self-Serving Calls to Regulate Social Media
Demands for government oversight hide opportunism amid rhetoric about safety.
Who's Ready for an Obama Lecture About Trump?: Podcast
Critiquing an ex-president's warnings about anti-media rhetoric, non-voting, and unelected bureaucrats
Google Obeys Russia's Demand to Remove Putin Critic's YouTube Ads
An aide for the jailed dissident calls Google's actions "political censorship."
Right to Cross-Examine Witnesses in University Disciplinary Proceedings
The Sixth Circuit reaffirms this, including for sexual assault accusations, in a case against the University of Michigan; and the court also allows plaintiff to proceed with his claim that the process was biased against him because of his sex.
In Due Process Lawsuit, Appeals Court Sides with Michigan Student Expelled for Sexual Misconduct
If credibility is at stake, "the university must give the accused student or his agent an opportunity to cross-examine the accuser."
State Civil Protective Order Doesn't Preclude Federal Challenge to Criminal Harassment Statute
An interesting new Younger abstention case from the Ninth Circuit, arising in our challenge to Washington's very broad criminal harassment statute.
Ignore the Anthem Outrage Mob, It's Going To Be a Great Year for Football
There are many reasons to be excited about the NFL's return. The national anthem controversy isn't one of them.
Kamala Harris, Foe of Legal Sex Work, Questions Whether Laws Exist That Control Male Bodies
Fun fact: All laws give government control of the decisions that everybody of any gender can do with their bodies.
No, Trump Staffers Shouldn't Be Subject to a Lie Detector Dragnet to Find the 'Resistance' Mole
Rand Paul betrays his civil libertarian principles when he calls for using junk science to ferret out disloyalty.
Noteworthy Qualified Immunity Settlement
The state pays (and generously) to avoid the pending cert. petition in Allah v. Milling
Twitter Can Ban Alex Jones, But That Won't Stop Us from Talking About Him
Conspiracy theorist banned for "abusive behavior."
Dianne Feinstein Wants Brett Kavanaugh to 'Reconcile' His Second Amendment Reasoning With 'Hundreds of School Shootings' That Never Happened
The senator is miffed that the SCOTUS nominee thinks people have a right to own the guns she wants to ban.
Regulators Want to Know: Are Social Media Companies 'Intentionally Stifling' Conservatives?
The Department of Justice plans to look into whether social media platforms are "hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas."
Grieving Parents' Policy Preferences Are Irrelevant to the Constitutionality of Gun Laws
Kamala Harris wants Brett Kavanaugh to give gun violence victims "a fair shake," by which she means adopting her view of the Second Amendment.
Cincinnati Cop Tased 11-Year Old Girl, Told Her 'This Is Why There Aren't Any Grocery Stores in the Black Community'
The girl was in tears as firefighters removed taser barbs from her body.
Senators Want Facebook and Twitter to Ignore Demands from Authoritarian Governments, Except Ours
Tom Cotton to Jack Dorsey: "Do you prefer to see America remain the world's dominant global superpower?"
Australia Chosen as the Battleground to Try to Destroy Your Data Privacy
Draft legislation would force tech companies to compromise encryption at the government's demand.
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Overprotective Parenting Led to Fragility on Campus
Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff explain how "good intentions and bad ideas" have made young people super-fragile-and how to make things better.
Indonesian Blasphemy Conviction for Complaining About Mosque's Loud Call to Prayer
My Spanish blasphemy post reminded that I've been meaning to blog about the Indonesian decision, handed down last month.
Unholy Toledo -- Blasphemy Prosecution in Spain
"The Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers has announced that it is also planning to ask the judge to consider investigating Toledo for hate crimes after he said during a television interview that if people were shot for their religious beliefs and Catholic churches burned during the Spanish Civil War, it was because they 'must have done something."'
Maybe Social Media 'Outrage' Is Just a Lazy Partisan Ritual: Podcast
Before demanding censure or intervention, take a step back from the Twitter machine and ask yourself whether anyone really cares about this stuff.
A Second Look at a Controversial Study About Defensive Gun Use
Criminologist Gary Kleck revises his paper on the incidence of the use of firearms for self-protection.
Oops! The EPA Published the Social Security Numbers of People Who Filed FOIA Requests
Thanks to a design bug in a government transparency website, dozens of social security numbers were mistakenly made public.
The Problem With Prohibitions on Electronic Contraband Like 3D-Printed Gun Designs
The urge to suppress runs up against targets which have no form, shape, or fixed location, and can be infinitely reproduced.
Magistrate Rejects Sealing in Discrimination Lawsuit Against Novelist Nicholas Sparks and the School He Founded
A good example of a court properly protecting the public right of access to court records.
Judge Willett Questions Qualified Immunity
In a concurring opinion, Fifth Circuit Judge Don Willett expresses concern about the " kudzu-like creep of the modern immunity regime."
Walmart Illegally Discriminated Against 18-to-20-Year-Old Gun Buyer, Oregon Antidiscrimination Agency Alleges
Oregon is one of a handful states that bans age discrimination against 18-to-20-year-olds by places of public accommodation.
A Young Mom Was Justified in a Shooting, but a Past Marijuana Charge Means Prison Time
Authorities say Krissy Noble was justified in shooting and killing a home intruder while she was pregnant.
Protective Orders, Due Process, and the Second Amendment
"While not a criminal matter, an order of protection exposes a respondent to an array of restrictions, including severe limitations on his or her Second Amendment rights. A respondent deserves a meaningful due process opportunity to present his or her case."
Arizona Supreme Court Rejects Proposed Lawyer Speech Code (Rule 8.4(g))
The rule would have banned, among other things, "harmful verbal ... conduct that manifests bias or prejudice towards others" "on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status in conduct related to the practice of law," including "in bar association, business or social activities in connection with the practice of law."
J.D. Martinez's Second Amendment Stance Is Patriotic, Not Controversial
Why should an athlete be subjected to a nonsensical controversy ginned up by reporters?
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.
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?
