American Civil Liberties Union : Free Speech

Free Speech:
Freedom of speech is protected in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and is guaranteed to all Americans. Since 1920, the ACLU has worked to preserve our freedom of speech. Learn more and take action to protect the right to free speech.

Protest and the President
For years, the ACLU has fought the White House policy of shielding the president from dissent. The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, but that right is undermined if protesters can't be heard. More >>
> WV: ACLU Calls Government Settlement in Anti-Bush T-Shirt Case a Victory for Free Speech
> CO: White House Staffers Sued for Ejecting Denver Residents from Bush Event
> NM: Protestors Should be Seen and Heard

FCC v. Fox Television Stations and "Fleeting Expletives"
The ACLU has filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of several creative arts, media and free speech organizations criticizing the Federal Communication Commission's regulation of "indecent speech" as arbitrary, inconsistent, and irreconcilable with core First Amendment values. More >>

Federal Court Upholds Ban on Internet Censorship Law
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a federal district court decision that the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Read the decision >>

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ACLU-NC Legal Foundation Applauds Court Decision Upholding Free Speech Rights Of Wilmington Street Musician (11/25/2008)
WILMINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) applauded a ruling earlier this month by New Hanover County District Court Judge John J. Carroll, III, dismissing a criminal citation issued by Wilmington police against Peter Barbeau for playing his saxophone on the sidewalk in downtown Wilmington. Despite the fact that many people enjoyed Mr. Barbeau's music and he never received a single complaint, he was issued a criminal citation under a City of Wilmington ordinance that prohibits solicitations of any kind in the Central Business District. Judge Carroll dismissed the criminal charge, finding that the City of Wilmington's ordinance against solicitations in the downtown area violated Mr. Barbeau's right to free speech and expression. Specifically, the Order states that the solicitation ordinance "is an overbroad and hence unconstitutional restriction on speech in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."

ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation Applauds Settlement in Dirty Dancing Lawsuit Against the Town of Marshall (11/13/2008)
MARSHALL, NC – The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) today applauded the successful settlement of a six-year-old lawsuit against the Town of Marshall, North Carolina, for unfairly imposing a lifetime ban on Rebecca Willis, prohibiting her from dancing at the Town Depot, the public music hall in Marshall.

Federal Court Upholds Exclusion Of Denver Residents From Bush Speech Based On Political Expression (11/7/2008)
DENVER – In a blow to free speech, a federal district court judge found that no constitutional rights were violated when Leslie Weise and Alex Young were ejected from one of President Bush's speeches in Denver in March 2005. The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado, charged that Weise and Young, two of the so-called "Denver 3," were ejected simply because they arrived at the event in a car with the bumper sticker reading "No More Blood For Oil."

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