By Jack F. Williams, Staff Member (Vol. 16) In 2008, the North Carolina legislature passed the “Protect Children from Sexual Predators Act.” As part of the Act, subsection 14-202.5 banned the use of “commercial social networking Web sites by any registered sex offender.” The statute applied to about “20,000 people in North Carolina” and reports …

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Quinn Dombrowski By Megan Shook, Staff Member (Vol. 16) An old English nursery rhyme illustrates an early antipathy to beggars: Hark! Hark! The dogs do bark; The beggars are coming to town. Some gave them white bread; And some gave them brown, And some gave them a good horsewhip, And sent …

Welcome to First Amendment Newsflash, the First Amendment Law Review’s bi-weekly roundup of the latest in free expression and religious freedom news and commentary. Check here every other Sunday for a new edition! Need First Amendment news in the meantime? Follow FALR on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates. Federal Court News A historic church in Pittsburgh claims that …

By Corey Noland, Staff Member (Vol. 16) “A moment of prayer or quiet reflection sets the mind to a higher purpose and thereby eases the task of governing.” If I did not know any better, I would think this statement was made by a political candidate talking to his or her religious constituents, or perhaps …

By Evan Dancy, Staff Member (Vol. 16) Ever since the NSA wiretapping scandal broke in the early 2000s, Americans have lived with the uncomfortable suspicion that the government might be or is keeping active surveillance on the calls we make to our grandmothers or the dog pictures we post to our social media profiles. In …

Federal Court News Federal judge allows lawsuit over Kentucky driver’s “I’m God” license plate to move forward. The Virginia woman who was fired from her government contracting firm for flipping off President Trump’s motorcade sued her employer. Recent lawsuit settlement over Maryland Governor’s Facebook page requires Maryland’s governor to be more permissive of social media …

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jeffrey Bruno, ALETEIA By Rachel Kokenes, Staff Member (Vol. 16)   The Current Political Climate as Backdrop As President Donald Trump looked (via satellite) into the crowd of anti-abortion activists gathered for the 2018 March for Life, he used a word that most monitoring the national debate surrounding abortion would find …

By Rachel LaBruyere, Staff Member (Vol. 16) On MLK Day this year, University of Alabama student Harley Barber posted two expletive-laden videos to her finsta account. The first video featured Barber saying “I love how I act like I love black people because I fucking hate niggers.” After students threatened to inform Barber’s sorority about …

Welcome to First Amendment Newsflash, the First Amendment Law Review’s bi-weekly roundup of the latest in free expression and religious freedom news and commentary. Check here every other Sunday for a new edition! Need First Amendment news in the meantime? Follow FALR on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Karthik BK   Federal Court News …

By Sabrina Heck, Staff Member (Vol. 16) In light of the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, corporations like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart have changed their policies on gun sales. Other major corporations, such as First National Bank of Omaha, MetLife, Hertz, and Symantec, have diminished or discontinued their affiliation with the National …