Defining free speech

[92tide]

not sure if this fits here, or not ...

Montana halts permitting on all weekend rallies at Capitol, thwarts upcoming ‘No Kings’ event

Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally in Helena say that a new state rule banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds violates their First Amendment rights.

apnews.com

Montana halts permitting on all weekend rallies at Capitol, thwarts upcoming ‘No Kings’ event​

Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally in Helena say that a new state rule banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds violates their First Amendment rights. State officials countered that the new rule, quietly instituted just last month, was intended to save money.

The update to permitting guidelines on the Montana.gov site, which has not been previously reported, states that public events requiring a permit “may only occur on weekdays and between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., excluding holidays.”

The revisions apply to all state-owned or leased spaces or grounds at the Capitol Complex. The policy requires a permit for any public event that uses “state resources, requires setup of any structures, materials, displays, or requires clean-up.” A public event is defined as “any event that is open to the public and to which the public will have full access.”

 

[Tidewater]

not sure if this fits here, or not ...

Montana halts permitting on all weekend rallies at Capitol, thwarts upcoming ‘No Kings’ event

Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally in Helena say that a new state rule banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds violates their First Amendment rights.

apnews.com

Montana halts permitting on all weekend rallies at Capitol, thwarts upcoming ‘No Kings’ event​

Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally in Helena say that a new state rule banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds violates their First Amendment rights. State officials countered that the new rule, quietly instituted just last month, was intended to save money.

The update to permitting guidelines on the Montana.gov site, which has not been previously reported, states that public events requiring a permit “may only occur on weekdays and between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., excluding holidays.”

The revisions apply to all state-owned or leased spaces or grounds at the Capitol Complex. The policy requires a permit for any public event that uses “state resources, requires setup of any structures, materials, displays, or requires clean-up.” A public event is defined as “any event that is open to the public and to which the public will have full access.”

I would say the No Kings folks are right, but should sue in a state court under the Montana constitution.
I do not believe in the incorporation of the federal Bill of Rights. It is a constitutional abomination merely waiting to be overturned by the Supreme Court. All of the prohibitions on sta5e act9on are contained in Art.l, Section 10 or, in the Equal Protection Clause of the XIV Amendment. If Montana had said white peopl can protest on the weekends, but black people cannot, thart would have violated the Equal Protection Clause of the XIV Amendment, but I do not see that it does. It is a blanket prohibition on weekend protest so off to state Court they go.

 

[92tide]

I would say the No Kings folks are right, but should sue in a state court under the Montana constitution.
I do not believe in the incorporation of the federal Bill of Rights. It is a constitutional abomination merely waiting to be overturned by the Supreme Court. All of the prohibitions on sta5e act9on are contained in Art.l, Section 10 or, in the Equal Protection Clause of the XIV Amendment. If Montana had said white peopl can protest on the weekends, but black people cannot, thart would have violated the Equal Protection Clause of the XIV Amendment, but I do not see that it does. It is a blanket prohibition on weekend protest so off to state Court they go.

no idea if they are pursuing legal remedies or not, but they seem to have a plan for a workaround
----
Without the necessary permit, Barnes said, the group plans to move the upcoming rally to Sixth Avenue, the street in front of the Capitol, where they will park a flatbed trailer on the public street to act as a stage for speakers. Participants can stand on the Capitol lawn but must keep the sidewalks clear.

 

[92tide]

i guess this goes here

FCC chair threatens to throttle news broadcasts over ‘hoaxes’ about Iran war

Brendan Carr posts that he may cancel spectrum permits of ‘mainstream news’ outlets for ‘misleading’ coverage

www.theguardian.com

 

[Tidewater]

i guess this goes here

FCC chair threatens to throttle news broadcasts over ‘hoaxes’ about Iran war

Brendan Carr posts that he may cancel spectrum permits of ‘mainstream news’ outlets for ‘misleading’ coverage

www.theguardian.com

That definitely runs afoul of the 1st Amendment. If you do not like what CBS is saying, hold a press conference (or release a video on one of the many social media platforms) showing that CBS is full of it.
The answer to "misinformation" is more information.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

i guess this goes here

FCC chair threatens to throttle news broadcasts over ‘hoaxes’ about Iran war

Brendan Carr posts that he may cancel spectrum permits of ‘mainstream news’ outlets for ‘misleading’ coverage

www.theguardian.com

I guess Trump did really read "Mein Kampf," after all...

 

[Tidewater]

no idea if they are pursuing legal remedies or not, but they seem to have a plan for a workaround
----
Without the necessary permit, Barnes said, the group plans to move the upcoming rally to Sixth Avenue, the street in front of the Capitol, where they will park a flatbed trailer on the public street to act as a stage for speakers. Participants can stand on the Capitol lawn but must keep the sidewalks clear.

Interesting. That may not work. The local government still has a job to maintain public order, (I'm not a lawyer), so they can control time, place, and manner of protests. I'm sure the court has worked out how many times a local administration can turn down a group's request. When a protest group says, ":Can we protest here?" and the city says, "no." Then the group says, "How about here?" And the city "Not there either." Eventually, they are going to have to approve something or the excuse of time, place, and manner becomes a cover for prohibiting the protest.

 

[92tide]

some good news on the free speech front

Judge permanently blocks Ten Commandments displays at several Arkansas school districts

A judge ruled Monday to permanently bar several school districts from following Arkansas’s law to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. U.S. District Judge…

thehill.com

 

[CrimsonJazz]

US settles social media censorship case, bars agencies from threatening penalties

The Trump administration has agreed to a settlement that will bar three federal agencies from pressuring social media companies to remove or suppress speech, ending a high-profile lawsuit that reached the U.S. Supreme ‌Court when Trump's predecessor Joe Biden was president.

www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has agreed to a settlement that will bar three federal agencies from pressuring social media companies to remove or suppress speech, ending a high-profile lawsuit that reached the U.S. Supreme ‌Court when Trump's predecessor Joe Biden was president.

The settlement, opens new tab, filed on Tuesday in a federal court in Louisiana, resolves a lawsuit brought by Missouri, Louisiana and several individual plaintiffs who alleged that the Democratic Biden administration unlawfully coerced major social media platforms into censoring posts about topics including COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election.