Obscenity
Arkansas Can't Jail Librarians for Giving Kids 'Harmful' Books
Portions of a law, struck down last week, would have subjected individuals to misdemeanor charges for providing "harmful" materials to minors.
Map: Pearl Clutchers in Hot Spring County
A rural Arkansas county files more than twice as many FCC complaints per resident than anywhere else in the United States.
Man Who Was Arrested for Flipping Off Cop Settles for $175,000
However distasteful, the First Amendment protects a citizen’s right to give a police officer the middle finger.
Tennessee Woman's 'Fuck Em' Both 2024' Sign Is Protected Speech, Rules District Court
The town of Lakeland will have to refund Julie Pereira $688 in fines and fees and pay her $1 in nominal damages for violating her First Amendment rights.
The Stop Comstock Act Doesn't Go Far Enough
Upcoming legislation would repeal parts of the 1873 law that could be used to target abortion, but the Comstock Act's reach is much more broad than that.
Alabama Bill Would Criminalize Librarians Who Allow 'Material Harmful to Minors'
The bill also attempts to ban drag performances at public libraries.
Your Local DMV May Have No Sense of Humor
Censorship of 2,872 Pennsylvania license plates raises free speech questions.
States Try To Strip Sex From Literature in Libraries, Schools
These aren't outright bans. But they still can chill free speech and academic freedom.
Was Amazon 'Free to Ignore' White House Demands That It Suppress Anti-Vaccine Books?
The Biden administration's interference with bookselling harks back to a 1963 Supreme Court case involving literature that Rhode Island deemed dangerous.
A Constitutionally Dubious California Bill Would Ban Possession of AI-Generated Child Pornography
The proposal seems to conflict with a Supreme Court ruling against laws that criminalize mere possession of obscene material.
Oklahoma Bill Would Ban Sending Sexy Selfies Unless You're Married
It could also outlaw any sort of sexualized image, play, or performance, pornographic or not.
Abortion 'Sanctuary Cities' Under Scrutiny in New Mexico Supreme Court
Abortion issues come before two other state Supreme Courts—in Arizona and Wyoming—this week as well.
Florida Hotel Fined $5,000 for Allowing Minors To Attend Holiday Drag Show
While minors were required to be accompanied by an adult to attend the event, state regulators still went after the "not appropriate" drag performance.
Federal Judge Blocks Florida's Anti-Drag Law
The ruling is the latest in a series of legal defeats for anti-drag laws.
Drag Is Protected Speech, Federal Judge Rules
It should be obvious that drag performances are protected by the First Amendment, but that hasn't kept government officials from trying to ban them.
Trump-Appointed Judge Rules Tennessee's Anti-Drag Law Unconstitutional
Plus: Librarians take on Arkansas book restrictions, another migrant stunt may have originated in Florida, and more...
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Is a Marvel Superhero Movie Made in Poor Taste. And It's Better for It.
In 2018, director James Gunn was fired from the film for gross tweets. But this comic book sequel shows the value of his gross-out sensibility.
Tennessee's Anti-Drag Bill Is a Gaudy Public Performance
It’s already illegal to expose minors to obscenity, so what is this bill really for?
A Louisiana Town Repeatedly Arrested a Man for His 'FUCK JOE BIDEN' Flags. Now, He's Suing.
"The Town has routinely detained, cited, and forced Mr. Brunet to go to trial to vindicate his constitutional rights, taking the extraordinary step of adopting a boldly unconstitutional local Ordinance to silence him," the complaint reads.
North Dakota Legislators Consider Bill To Ban 'Sexually Explicit' Material From Public Libraries
"If you don't like a book, don't read it. The First Amendment's guarantee of the freedom of speech and the right to access information has created a beautiful marketplace of ideas in our country," said one ACLU representative opposing the bill.
The War on Christmas Comes for the Drag Queens
Some conservatives toss “parents’ rights” out the window in a holiday culture war against kids at live shows.
"Virginia Can't Force Bookstores To Card Kids for Books on Gender and Sexuality"
at least through a preliminary injunction, even if the books include some moderately graphic descriptions.
Virginia Can't Force Bookstores To Card Kids for Books on Gender and Sexuality
An effort to ban sales of two books to minors ended with a Virginia judge saying that the state’s obscenity statute is “unconstitutional on its face."
'FUCK' Belongs to Everyone
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board determined this week that an applicant cannot have the exclusive rights to everybody's favorite curse word.
Obscenity (Including as to Minors) and "the Work Taken as a Whole"
An isolated sexually themed passage, even a graphic one, doesn't make a work obscene.
Psst, Kids, "Court of Mist and Fury" Is Too Sexy for You!
You absolutely, positively shouldn't be allowed to read it. Definitely forbidden.
Va. Judge Finds Probable Cause That "Court of Mist and Fury" and "Gender Queer" Are "Obscene for … Minors"
This finding is now being used as a basis for seeking a restraining order banning Barnes & Noble from distributing the books to minors. Is that constitutional?
Idaho Lawmakers Threaten To Jail Librarians for Letting Kids Read LGBT Books
A new bill would alter state law to remove an educational exception for disseminating works the community deems "harmful" to minors.
Are These Wyoming Library Books Obscene?
Plus: Most Republicans oppose fetal heartbeat laws, FDA authorizes rapid at-home COVID-19 tests, and more...
As Twitter Sex Trafficking Case Proceeds, Platforms Face an Impossible Dilemma
A federal judge says an anti-porn group's suit against Twitter can move forward, in a case that could portend a dangerous expansion of how courts define "sex trafficking."
John McWhorter: 'The Idea That America Is All About Despising Black People? That's Fantasy.'
The Columbia linguist discusses his new book Nine Nasty Words and dismisses the ideological excesses of the 'anti-racism' movement.
Offensive License Plates Are Free Speech, Court Tells California
Plus: National Labor Relations Board rules against The Federalist, France is getting less free, and more...
What the Porn Industry Thinks of the New War on Porn
GOP attacks on internet smut are heating up, but the porn industry has more practical threats to worry about.
Divided Appeals Panel Slaps Federal Judge for Allowing Jury Nullification Defense
Jurors remain free to exercise judgment and mercy in a criminal justice system that often lacks both.
Are We Really Gonna Do Another War on Porn?
Conservatives are wrong on policy, and really wrong on facts
What the Battle To Publish Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl' Means to Today's Free-Speech Struggles
The People v. Lawrence Ferlinghetti explains how America embraced free speech—and how we're ready to throw it away.
Charges Dropped Against Florida Man, Because the First Amendment Protects His "I Eat Ass" Bumper Sticker
No ifs, ands, or butts about it.
Cancel Culture Comes for Counterculture Comics
Today it's creators, not cops, who want to banish R. Crumb, onetime king of the comics underground.
Federal Court Rejects 'For the Children' Ban on Bare-Breasted Women: Reason Roundup
Plus: A judge says Jeffrey Epstein case was mishandled, and Andrea Dworkin is making a comeback.
Law Prohibiting 'Revenge Porn' Violates First Amendment, Says Texas Appeals Court
The state law targeted people who share erotic photographs of others without their consent.
Stone Age Statue Was Too Racy for Facebook
How can a company be expected to arbitrate "fake news" when it can't even tell ancient artifacts from porn?
Utah May Bring Back Porn Czar to Target 'Obscenity' Like Cosmo Magazine
From the man that helped Utah declare porn a "public health crisis."
Bikini Baristas Sue City in the Name of Free Speech and Women's Rights
City worries bikini hot dog stands could be next.
