Teacher Guide: Hate Speech In America
Although many countries across the globe have laws prohibiting hate speech, the United States protects offensive speech about certain groups that historically have been subject to discrimination. This guide explores the First Amendment issues that arise from attempting to regulate hate speech. The guide also goes into existing limitations on expression, including incitement to imminent lawless action, fighting words, true threats, and harassment.
University of California, San Diego Reaches Settlement with Satirical Student Publication
The newspaper sued the university after the student government passed a bill excluding media student groups from accessing activity funds. The legislation was passed just days after the paper published a controversial article satirizing safe spaces.
Student Settles Free Speech Lawsuit with California School District
The former high school student sued after his class president title was striped over an offensive video he posted on his Twitter account.
Texas Appeals Court Rejects Alex Jones’ Motion to Dismiss Heslin Defamation Suit
The judge has ordered Jones to pay Heslin $22,250 in attorney fees, making the total amount Jones now owes Neil Heslin just under $150,000.
Man Who “Trolled” Parkland Shooting Victims’ Families Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
Fleury’s lawyers tried to dismiss the case ahead of his trial in October 2019, arguing that his comments, though noxious, were protected under the First Amendment. But U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz rejected their motion, writing that Fleury’s expression fell under a category of unprotected speech called true threats.
Tennessee Lawmakers Copy Missouri’s Library Censorship Bill
Like the one proposed in Missouri, the Tennessee bill would make it so that a librarian could serve jail time for giving a child a book deemed inappropriate by the parental review board.
“While Defendants did, of course, have a constitutional obligation to refrain from restricting Plaintiff’s speech on account of the threat, or possibility, of public hostility to their Alt-Right message, the law is clear that Defendants had no constitutional obligation to prevent that public hostility,” Judge Norman K. Moon wrote.
Parents of Two High School Students Sue Over Right to Wear Gun T-Shirts in Class
The lawsuit argues that the students’ shirts do not advocate for violent or illegal use of firearms, but are meant to express support for “the value to society of personal possession of arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.”