First Amendment Rodeo, November 1-12
A biweekly round-up of intellectual freedom news around the nation
“It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.” — Justice Louis D. Brandeis
Book Challenge: Brave New World
Privacy: EPIC Protests Full-Body Imaging Machines
- Group Demands Immediate Halt of Full-Body Airport Scanners
- Pennsylvania Homeland Security Office Engaged in Domestic Surveillance, Compared Political Groups to Al Qaeda
United States Supreme Court: Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association
The issues in this case are as follows: (1) whether the First Amendment permits limitations on violent video games sold to minors, and (2) whether a state regulation for displaying offensive, harmful images to children is invalid if it fails to satisfy the exacting “strict scrutiny” standard of review. To pass strict scrutiny, a law or regulation must be narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest and must also be the least restrictive means for achieving that interest. The Freedom to Read Foundation submitted an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in this case.