Federal judge upholds ban on ‘I (Heart) Boobies’ breast cancer awareness bracelets in middle school

A federal judge ruled against a Wisconsin middle school student who sued the Sauk Prairie School District on First Amendment grounds for banning the “I (Heart) Boobies” bracelet. The judge said the district could ban vulgar or offensive speech under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bethel v. Fraser precedent. -db From the Student Press Law Center, [...]

Support grows for free speech for pop lyrics

With popular songs becoming even more racier, it would be expected for the public to favor restricting the lyrics, but a poll by the First Amendment Center revealed that 67 percent of those polled said performers have the right to sing lyrics others might find offensive. This is in sharp contrast to the 55 percent [...]

Opinion: ‘Free speech zones’ violate First Amendment

Gene Policinski of the First Amendment Center argues that free speech zones run counter to the First Amendment  guarantee of unrestricted free speech. If people do not want to hear the words or view the signs that may offend them, the best remedy would be to simply leave or look away. -db From a commentary [...]

Free speech case: Prosecutors won’t file charges on posting of distasteful anti-Muslim images

Minnesota prosecutors declined to file charges against a man posting crude anti-Muslim images in front of a mosque and a Somali-owned store in St. Cloud.-DB Minneapolis Star Tribune January 7, 2010 By Patrick Condon MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Two Minnesota prosecutors say they won’t file charges against a man who investigators say admitted posting anti-Muslim images in front of [...]

School denies students right to wear anti-Islam T-shirt

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing a school district in Gainesville, Florida for punishing students for wearing T-shirts promoting their religious beliefs that included anti-Islam slogans. -DB American Civil Liberties Union Opinion November 25, 2009 By Brandon Hensler Islam is of the Devil. That is the T-shirt slogan that instigated a hailstorm of debate [...]