Monday, November 12, 2018
#FREESPEECH IN THE NEWS: NOVEMBER 12, 2018
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news – and what you should know about – in the past week.
1.) NRA sues New York governor, regulator for 'blacklisting campaign'
The National Rifle Association has lost its free speech lawsuit against New York state officials. The suit was filed earlier this year and claimed the state had issued a blacklisting campaign against the group.
In a notably thorough 71-page ruling on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy of Albany rejected most of the NRA’s causes of action, including its allegations that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo conspired to threaten banks and insurance companies with regulatory scrutiny if they did business with the NRA.
Judge McAvoy also tossed the NRA’s claim that state officials improperly interfered with the NRA’s business interests and held the gun rights group cannot seek an injunction to shield its future business partners. Nor can the NRA move forward with assertions that Cuomo and Vullo violated its right to associate with its members.
2.) ACLU says new Ann Arbor ordinance infringes on free speech rights
Ann Arbor is facing criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan over a new city ordinance banning unauthorized displays of the city's seal and flag.
Shortly after enacting the ordinance, the city sent a "cease and desist" notice to Ann Arbor resident Ed Vielmetti in early August, seeking to get the city's bur-oak tree logo taken down from LocalWiki.org, an online encyclopedia for which Vielmetti is a contributor.
The City Council approved the ordinance in July, imposing up to $10,000 in penalty fines for violations, but the ACLU argues it infringes on protected free speech rights under the First Amendment.
City officials say they'll be taking a closer look at the ordinance in light of the concerns raised by the ACLU.
3.) Supreme Court to decide if War Memorial Cross violates First Amendment
The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to review a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on a 93-year-old World War I Memorial that has been the subject of a separation of church and state controversy since 2012.
The “Peace Cross” is a 40-foot-tall Latin Cross built in 1925 in Bladensburg, Maryland, to honor 49 men from Prince George’s county who died in World War I. The cross was originally commissioned by the American Legion but was acquired along with the land on which it sits by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1961 and is now maintained by the state of Maryland.
The original 2012 case argued that the use of religious imagery in a monument maintained by a local government violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an Establishment of Religion.” This formally prohibits the establishment of a national religion, but it has historically prevented expressions of religion involving governments within the US, including displays of religious imagery in public schools and government buildings.
