Free speech is essential to our universities. Without it, and the diversity of opinions and associations it fosters, the mission of higher education is thwarted. When a group of college students wanted to set up a table to promote Turning Point USA—a non-profit organization that educates students about the importance of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government—an administrator stopped them, citing the universities’ speech policy.
The state of Louisiana is trying to keep abortions safe for women by implementing standards requiring doctors who provide outpatient surgery at surgical centers (such as abortion clinics) have admitting privileges at local hospitals. Pro-choice advocates are against this bill because it may reduce the number of abortions.
Our Lady of Guadalupe School and St. James School are both under attack for firing teachers who were deemed unqualified for their positions. The mission of these schools is to provide faith-based education for their students, along with a strong academic curriculum. Yet, in one case, the teacher was unwilling to follow the guidelines of a newly implemented program and in the other, her performance was low.
The First Amendment right to freedom of speech is being narrowly viewed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority by not allowing advertisements for Christmas events to be posted. Yet, advertisements for a video game with a warning that it involved extreme violence and sexual themes, is permissible.
Atheists brought suit challenging a monument to those who died in World War I, the Bladensburg Cross; claiming that since it is a religious symbol, it should not stand on public display and that its upkeep should not be funded by the government.
Many believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. So when the bakers at “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” in Gresham, Oregon were asked to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding, the bakers felt, because of their religious convictions, they could not do so.
The rights of the unborn are at stake, once again, as abortion is used as a tool for getting rid of babies based on sex, race, or disability.
The owner of a bed and breakfast was standing on her belief that renting a room to a same-sex couple would go against her religious convictions. Yet, Hawai`i’s Intermediate Court of Appeals has penalized her for not allowing the couple to stay at her B & B.
A Minnesota videographer challenged state statute that arguably prohibited them from refusing to provide video service for same-sex marriages when they provided such services for opposite-sex marriages.
A transgender high school girl wanted to use the boys’ facilities at her high school, despite the availability of single-stall bathrooms that offered greater safety. She sued the school district whose policy prevented her from using the boys’ facilities.