Free Speech

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today is filing its second lawsuit in United States District Court in Seattle challenging the City of Seattle's establishment of a No Protest Zone during the meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 1-3, 1999.

Jessica Beckett, a senior at North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, has been selected to receive a Youth Activist Scholarship Award in recognition of her work for civil liberties. The $4,000 college scholarship is one of nine awarded by the American Civil Liberties Union to high school students around the nation.

Proponents of free speech literally chalked up a victory on the campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham. In 1999, WWU administrators proposed new guidelines for writing messages in chalk on Red Square plaza that would unreasonably limit who could write messages and what they could say.

The American Civil Liberties Union today is seeking a Temporary Restraining Order against the City of Tacoma to enable a political action group to obtain a permit for a march. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group (TLPSG), a group that works to advance the rights of Native Americans.

The ACLU's Kitsap County Chapter fought an effort to censor David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars, a murder mystery about prejudice toward Japanese Americans after World War II. After South Kitsap County School District teacher and parent review panels endorsed the book, a vocal group of parents condemned the acclaimed work as pornographic.

The ACLU successfully challenged regulations purported to give the Washington Liquor Control Board authority to prohibit labels on beer bottles that the Board believes are "immodest, undignified, or in bad taste."

Reasonable rules against harassment on the basis of sexual orientation do not violate the free speech rights of students and teachers. Here are some general guidelines for striking a balance between protecting free speech and protecting students against harassment.

In a victory for free speech rights, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the City of Seattle's ordinance for granting permits for parades and marches gives police too much discretion to revoke or alter permits.