By Angele Latham, BrieAnna J. Frank, Taylor Seely, Stephany Matat, and Cate Charron NASHVILLE − There’s turmoil over the state of free speech in America. The issue took center stage as free speech advocates, lawyers and experts from around the world convened recently at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Conversations at the Global Free Speech Summit, […]
By Mike Kiniry The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “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 […]
By Kevin M. Spivak One-sided censorship A decline in support for free speech and an increase in support for violence to suppress opposing views go hand in hand in authoritarian regimes. According to a recent report from Vanderbilt University’s the Future of Free Speech project, over the past decade, the number of countries limiting speech […]
By Jonathan Shorman [ . . . ] Two days after Kirk’s assassination, Rokita urged his followers on X to submit to him any evidence of educators or school administrators celebrating or rationalizing the killing. He wrote that they must be held accountable and “have no place teaching our students.” But Rokita has also said […]
By Jacob Mchangama The assassination of Charlie Kirk was a tragic illustration of the public’s collapsing belief in free speech. His arguments weren’t met with rebuttals, but bullets — a shocking affront to America’s longstanding commitment to civil discourse. For a brief moment, it seemed Americans of all political stripes might unite in denouncing the […]
By J.D. Tuccille We Need To Revive a Culture of Free Speech But, as Kirk himself warned, “when people stop talking, really bad stuff starts. When marriages stop talking, divorce happens. When civilizations stop talking, civil war ensues.” We’re not there yet. From the left, Van Jones called for more dialogue and less violence. From […]
By Nick Karmia and Tufan Neupane Jacob Mchangama, founder and executive director of the Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University, agreed that the First Amendment protects against government actions, not actions by a private employer. But he said, the lines blur when government officials pressure private employers to punish employees whose views don’t conform […]
By Naomi Lim Jacob Mchangama, executive director of the Future of Free Speech, told the Washington Examiner he “completely” understood why “people are repulsed” by those celebrating Kirk’s death, but underscored that “there’s a difference between moral condemnation and criminal persecution.” “What I think is particularly ironic is that this administration has been, and I […]
By Angele Latham Following the shooting, rhetoric surrounding students’ First Amendment rights has been heated. But one theme has been largely agreed upon by First Amendment experts on both sides of the aisle: speech is not violence, and violence is not an answer to speech. Jacob Mchangama, the founder and executive director of the Future […]
By Ashkhen Kazaryan and Ashley Haek A 2023 complaint filed by Missouri, Louisiana, and other individual plaintiffs against the Biden administration argued that executive branch officials “coerced, threatened, and pressured social-media platforms to censor disfavored speakers and viewpoints by using threats of adverse government action,” thus violating the First Amendment. That lawsuit alleged that the […]