Posts Tagged ‘funeral protest’

First Amendment Commentary • Inside the First Amendment |

This year, let’s resolve to preserve, use, celebrate our core freedoms

Newtown, Westboro, WikiLeaks … these and other issues make some want to curtail the First Amendment in some way, but that’s the wrong way to go.

Assembly News |

Full 8th Circuit: Mo. town can limit funeral protests

Manchester’s ordinance ‘survives First Amendment scrutiny because it serves a significant government interest,’ judge writes for court.

Assembly Commentary |

Funeral-protest bill likely to stir First Amendment fight

Measure, which awaits President Obama’s signature, already has drawn the ire of Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps.

Assembly News |

Mich. governor signs bills to clarify funeral-protest law

New measures prohibit conduct, statements or gestures that would make a ‘reasonable person’ attending a funeral or memorial service feel intimidated or threatened.

Assembly News |

Full 8th Circuit to review Mo. town’s funeral-protest ban

Three-judge panel had struck down St. Louis suburb’s ordinance, siding with members of Westboro Baptist Church who brought First Amendment challenge.

Speech News |

Mich. county settles lawsuit with couple over anti-Bush signs

Federal judge had ruled that Clare County officials violated Lewis and Jean Lowden’s First Amendment rights when they pulled the couple out of a soldier’s funeral procession.

Assembly Analysis |

Funeral privacy not same as at home, 8th Circuit rules

In case involving a Westboro Baptist Church protest in Nebraska, appeals court reiterates prior circuit law that government need not protect ‘unwilling listeners outside the context of a home.’

Assembly News |

8th Circuit strikes down Neb.’s funeral-picketing ban

Panel says it has no choice but to rule in favor of Westboro Baptist protesters owing to a previous panel ruling involving a Missouri law.

Assembly News |

8th Circuit strikes down Mo. town’s funeral-protest ban

Three-judge panel sides with members of Westboro Baptist Church who challenged Manchester’s ordinance.

Assembly News |

2 new N.Y. laws to limit funeral protests

One triples buffer zone around services from 100 to 300 feet, another authorizes the state and municipalities to establish 1,000-foot zones around funeral events on public land.

Assembly News |

Judge throws out key part of Mich. funeral-protest law

Couple’s rights were violated, federal judge rules, when they were pulled from a funeral procession in 2007 for having signs criticizing President Bush on windows inside their van.

Assembly News |

Ill. expands protest boundary around military funerals

Westboro Baptist Church member calls the new law unconstitutional, saying the church will continue its protests as it fights such laws in court.

First Amendment Commentary |

Lawyers who made a First Amendment difference this term

Six attorneys who triumphed on free-speech and related principles in some of the Supreme Court’s biggest cases in 2010-11.

First Amendment Analysis |

Supreme Court term was a winner for First Amendment

Conservative-led majorities of justices invoke Court’s liberal-era hallmarks of traditional free-speech protection in cases involving funeral protests, violent video games, commercial speech, FOIA, campaign finance.

Assembly Commentary • Inside the First Amendment |

‘Jackass’ star’s death prompts Westboro rally – and maybe counter-protests

Inside the First Amendment The best response to the anti-homosexual church’s repugnant funeral protests is a peaceful opposing demonstration.

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About The First Amendment Center

We support the First Amendment and build understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.

The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.

Founded by John Seigenthaler, the First Amendment Center is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum and the Diversity Institute. The center has offices in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

The center’s programs, including the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, provide education and information to the public and groups including First Amendment scholars and experts, educators, government policy makers, legal experts and students. The center is nonpartisan and does not lobby, litigate or provide legal advice. See First Amendment Center Fact Sheet and FAQs. See internships info.

The center’s website, www.firstamendmentcenter.org, is one of the most authoritative sources of news, information and commentary in the nation on First Amendment issues. It features daily updates on news about First Amendment-related developments, as well as detailed reports about U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment, and commentary, analysis and special reports on free expression, press freedom and religious-liberty issues. Support the work of the First Amendment Center.

1 For All

1 for All is a national nonpartisan program designed to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms. 1 for All provides teaching materials to the nation’s schools, supports educational events on America’s campuses and reminds the public that the First Amendment serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, gender or political leanings. It is truly one amendment for all. Visit 1 for All at http://1forall.us/

Help tomorrow’s citizens find their voice: Teach the First Amendment

The most basic liberties guaranteed to Americans – embodied in the 45 words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – assure Americans a government that is responsible to its citizens and responsive to their wishes.

These 45 words are as alive and important today as they were more than 200 years ago. These liberties are neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican – they are the basis for our representative democratic form of government.

We know from studies beginning in 1997 by the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, and from studies commissioned by the Knight Foundation and others, that few adult Americans or high school students can name the individual five freedoms that make up the First Amendment.

The lesson plans – drawn from materials prepared by the Newseum and the First Amendment Center – will draw young people into an exploration of how their freedoms began and how they operate in today’s world. Students will discuss just how far individual rights extend, examining rights in the school environment and public places. The lessons may be used in history and government, civics, language arts and journalism, art and debate classes. They may be used in sections or in their entirety. Many of these lesson plans indicate an overall goal, offer suggestions on how to teach the lesson and list additional resources and enrichment activities.

See more about lesson plans.

First Amendment Moot Court Competition

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – the cornerstone of American democracy – is the focus of the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition. Recognized as one of the nation's finest constitutional-law competitions, this annual event features a current First Amendment controversy.

During the two-day competition in February, each team will participate in a minimum of four rounds, arguing a hypothetical based on a current First Amendment controversy before panels of accomplished jurists, legal scholars and attorneys.

Past participants in the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition have represented law schools nationwide, from Brooklyn Law School to Duke University to Arizona State to Harvard.

The 23rd Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition is Feb. 21-22, 2013. See registration information and details about the competition.

FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER ARCHIVES

State of the First Amendment survey reports

The State of the First Amendment surveys, commissioned since 1997 by the First Amendment Center and Newseum, are a regular check on how Americans view their first freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition.

The periodic surveys examine public attitudes toward freedom of speech, press, religion and the rights of assembly and petition; and sample public opinion on contemporary issues involving those freedoms. See the reports.