Category Archives: First Amendment

BOSTON Bostons mayor and police commissioner urged activists Tuesday to hold off on a planned die-in protesting police violence during the citys annual New Years Eve festivities.

Mayor Martin Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans said the city will honor the protesters First Amendment right to demonstrate on Dec. 31. But they suggested the family-friendly First Night event is not the proper venue to address recent police killings of unarmed black men and boys in the U.S.

This isnt the event to do this, Evans said. If you walk down there, its all 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. I dont think they have to see [that] behavior. They dont understand what is going on. They are still very innocent.

Walsh agreed: At some point, we have to have a dialogue about where we go from here. Protesting is great to get your point across. But the conversation has to happen around what are the answers people are looking for so that we can explain what we have done as a police department and as a city. Weve done some hard work around race relations, in particular.

Evans suggested many of the protesters are from outside the city trying to capitalize on recent events and do not reflect the relations between law enforcement and the community in Boston. The majority of the community is behind us, he said.

If activists decide to demonstrate as planned at Copley Square, Walsh and Evans said they should be respectful of police and First Night revelers.

Now in its 39th year, First Night draws tens of thousands with a mix of ice sculptures, music, fireworks and other family-friendly activities. Its emphasis on wholesome, non-alcohol-fueled fun has inspired hundreds of similar celebrations around the world.

The group First Night Against Police Violence has said it expects at least 100 people to participate in its New Years Eve die-in, in which activists lie down in the street pretending to be dead.

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Boston officials urge protesters to show restraint during First Night event

First Amendment Test Laguna Beach Police Department
First Amendment Test Laguna Beach California Quite a difference from Aliso Viejo http://youtu.be/IlpS_tCm-Vg LIKE US N FACEBOOK -https://www.facebook.com/TheJunkYardNews.

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First Amendment Test Laguna Beach Police Department - Video

Ministers face fines, jail for balking at same-sex marriage
Are they guilty of discrimination or protected by the First Amendment? Watch the video about Shannon Bream, Happening Now, Personal Freedoms, Religion, Christianity, Controversies, First ...

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Ministers face fines, jail for balking at same-sex marriage - Video

Atheists attack Ground Zero cross
Godless group takes token of peace to court Watch the video about Religion, Personal Freedoms, 911, Bill Of Rights, Christianity, Controversies, First Amendment, National Interest, Values, Edge, US.

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Atheists attack Ground Zero cross - Video

Do New York City police officers have a First Amendment right to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio?

In a CBS interview Sunday, Police Commissioner William Bratton said it was very inappropriate for officers to turn their backs on the mayor at a funeral for one of two slain officers.

While theres no indication that any officer who participated in the symbolic rebuke of Mayor Bill de Blasio will face sanction, some commentators have suggested that the protesting officers should be punished.

The speech rights of public employees can often be a legal gray area. The situation involving the back-turning cops is no exception, say legal experts.

The answer is nobody knows, UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh told Law Blog.

Mr. Volokh said he thinks the police officers were speaking as citizens not as part of their official duties about matters of public concern. Courts have said government employees have the right to speak freely as private citizens on matters of public concern, with some exceptions.

Courts also consider the potential of speech to disrupt government functions. Mr. Volokh said the value of the speech would have to be weighed against its disruptive potential.

Its potentially disruptive because it undermines the authority of management, he said.

Dennis R. Nolan, a retired labor law professor at the University of South Carolina, said he doesnt think its clear whether the police officers who turned their backs were speaking as citizens or acting in an official capacity. Organized activity by [uniformed] police officers mourning the deaths of their colleagues could look like it was work-connected, he said.

The Supreme Court has laid down broad guidelines for looking at the speech rights of public employees.

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Do NYC Cops Have a First Amendment Right to Protest De Blasio?

Members of a group called Bible Believers were pelted with rocks while carrying a pig's head and telling Dearborn Muslims they would "burn in hell." Wayne County sheriff's deputies told the evangelists to leave the 2012 event or be ticketed.

An appeals court ruled in August, in a 2-1 decision, that group members' First Amendment rights weren't violated. But the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out that decision in October and said it would hear the case again.

The ACLU's Michigan branch filed a brief in support of Bible Believers on Dec. 12.

"By ordering the Bible Believers to leave the festival or else be cited for disorderly conduct, (deputies) violated the Bible Believers' free speech rights under the First Amendment," the ACLU argued. When "even offensive speech takes place in a public forum, police must take reasonable steps to protect speakers faced with a violent audience."

Nabih Ayad, an attorney for the sheriff's department and chairman of the Arab American Civil Rights League, is disappointed with the ACLU's stance.

"I understand the First Amendment and I'm for free speech, but when a riot is about to break out, free speech must take a back seat to public safety," Ayad told the Detroit Free Press.

A date for arguments at the Cincinnati-based appeals court hasn't been set.

Rana Elmir, ACLU of Michigan's deputy director, said her group finds "the Bible Believers' hate-filled speech and tactics vile and offensive." Nonetheless, she said, the evangelists must be defended.

"Censorship is never the answer," Elmir said.

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ACLU backs evangelists in Arab fest controversy

Life Without The First Amendment (B3 -- Adrian R.)

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Life Without The First Amendment (B3 -- Adrian R.) - Video

ACLU sues KCPS for punishing students in silent protest
The Kansas City School District is facing a lawsuit, accused of violating a student #39;s First Amendment rights. Read more at http://m.kshb.com/1HsmqNl.

By: 41 Action News

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ACLU sues KCPS for punishing students in silent protest - Video

Holly Jolly Xmas by Dustin Owens The First Amendment
No matter what your faith, have a happy holidays. Please subscribe, and find us around the web. facebook.com/DustinOwensandtheFirstAmendment twitter.com/PorkChopLive ...

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Holly Jolly Xmas by Dustin Owens & The First Amendment - Video

First Amendment - Freedoms including Freedom of Religion

By: Phil Harding

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First Amendment - Freedoms including Freedom of Religion - Video