Free Speech Roundup: Week of Mar. 4th, 2018

A summary of the top free speech related news and events from the past week. Freedom of speech is the right from which all other human rights follow because it allows people to address grievances and protest for their other rights. It is therefore of the utmost importance to protect the right to express oneself freely from those who seek to restrict it.

This week we have news on the Supreme Court, several lawsuits, and a university panel.

Supreme Court Considering 1st Amendment in Gerrymandering Cases

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180305/edward-fitzpatrick-gerrymandering-cases-using-free-speech-argument
The Supreme Court is considering the merits of First Amendment arguments in 2 cases of extreme partisan gerrymandering. The first case, Gill v. Whitford, claims unconstitutional gerrymandering in Wisconsin to favor Republicans. The second case, Benisek v. Lamone, claims unconstitutional gerrymandering in Maryland to favor Democrats. Gerrymandering challenges usually revolve around the 14th Amendment, with one party being deprived equal protection under the law. First Amendment protections could be considered if it is determined that partisan drawing of districts denies voters the right to a genuinely contestable election where one group receives unfavorable treatment for reason of their views.

Mississippi Town Allows Pride Parade to Avoid Federal Lawsuit

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lawsuit-pending-mississippi-town-oks-gay-pride-parade-n854421
Starkville, Mississippi, home of Mississippi State University, will hold its first gay pride parade after the mayor broke a tie in a revote. The move will help avoid a federal lawsuit filed against the city after an initial vote denied the parade. The lawsuit stated that by voting against the parade, the city violated rights of free expression and equal protection. Those who voted against the parade had refused to explain their reasoning.

Judge Recommends Settlement in Trump Twitter-Blocking Case

https://apnews.com/e524e6eda0d84d4ca6c8e1ebd255f8d9
A lawsuit filed against President Trump in July alleged that he violated the First Amendment rights of citizens he blocked on Twitter from his personal account. Arguments hinge on whether or not Trump's use of Twitter constitutes an official government account operating as a public forum. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald recommended a settlement in the case where he mutes critics instead of blocking them.

Iowa Man Sues City for Violating Free Speech Right to Criticize

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lawsuit-claims-sibley-violated-web-designer-s-free-speech-rights/article_c846cbd4-6d5e-52da-9ea4-96fbb69bc861.html
The ACLU of Iowa filed a lawsuit on behalf of Joshua Harms against the city of Sibley, Iowa for legal action that was threatened against him. Harms created a website to inform people about bad odors caused by a local processing plant. The city sent him a cease and desist letter, prompting changes to the site to be more positive, and allegedly told him not to speak about the letter to a newspaper reporter. Harms says that the city violated his First Amendment right of free political speech through threat of legal action.

School Board Sued for Teacher’s Arrest at Meeting

https://kadn.com/ag-files-suit-against-vermilion-parish-school-board-over-january-teacher-arrest/
http://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/education/article_aaeb9ff6-2316-11e8-be4e-97b0321c5e44.html
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is suing the Vermilion Parish School Board on behalf of middle school teacher Deyshia Hargrave for violating the state's Open Meeting Law. Hargrave was interrupted during her public comments at a meeting and arrested after criticizing the pay raise of Superintendent Jerome Puyau. Hargrave asked the superintendent how he could accept a raise when teachers hadn't received a raise in 10 years before being interrupted by school board president Anthony Fontana, who has since resigned. Charges were not pursued against her, but she claims her First Amendment rights were violated.

Panel – Are We Killing Free Speech?

Video Link
A panel at UC-Berkeley featuring Dave Rubin of the Rubin Report, Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute, and Steve Simpson of the Ayn Rand Institute. They discuss the state of free speech in the United States and on college campuses.

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~ First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States