First amendment - Rocky Mountain Voice

RMV editorial board: Denver braces for “No Kings” protests fueled by far-left groups

Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories / June 13, 2025 / Activism, Civic Center Park, Denver, Far Left, First amendment, Law and Order, Law Enforcement, No Kings Day, Protest, Public safety, Socialist Groups

This Saturday, a coalition of far-left activist groups is planning to flood downtown Denver for a protest they’re calling “No Kings Day”—timed deliberately to coincide with President Trump’s birthday and a nationwide military parade celebrating the Army’s 250th birthday.

While organizers claim the event is a celebration of “freedom from tyranny,” their messaging, sponsors and past behavior suggest otherwise. The event—set to take place at Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park from 1–6 p.m.—includes an “activist fair” featuring over 30 organizations.

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Hancock: The phrase that shields tyranny behind a slogan

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories / June 12, 2025 / Civic Order, Civil Unrest, Cultural Politics, Doublethink, First amendment, Free Speech, Language Manipulation, Mob Violence, Newspeak, Orwell, Peaceful Protest

In George Orwell’s 1984, citizens were told that war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. It was called Newspeak—language engineered to distort thought—and doublethink, the act of believing two contradictory things at once.

Today, we don’t need fiction. We have the perpetual news.

Across America, mobs swarm immigration offices, smash windows, burn vehicles, blockade highways, and hurl explosives at federal buildings—all while being shielded under the banner of “peaceful protest.” The phrase is repeated so often it’s practically trademarked. Politicians echo it. Journalists parrot it. And poets romanticize it, casting destruction as defiance and rage as righteousness.

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Jacques: Colorado’s speech police aren’t protecting rights—they’re punishing dissent

USA Today, Approved, Commentary, State / June 12, 2025 / Civil Liberties, Compelled Speech, First amendment, Free Speech, Gender Identity Laws, Gender Ideology, HB25-1312, Legal Challenges, Parental Rights, Transgender

You’d think that after two significant losses at the U.S. Supreme Court, Colorado would tread more carefully with its anti-discrimination laws.

No such luck.

A new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in May, expands the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to make deadnaming and misgendering transgender individuals a punishable offense. California, not surprisingly, has tried something similar but on a more limited basis.

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False claims, real consequences: Judge rejects activist’s First Amendment defense

For more than a year, Derrick Wilburn – father, community leader and now an elected school board member – was publicly branded a “child predator” by a vocal district parent. The accusations, repeated at school board meetings, online and even in state legislative testimony, painted him as a man who preyed on children.

Wilburn filed a defamation lawsuit in December 2024, seeking accountability. And on April 29, a Colorado judge drew a legal line.

El Paso County District Court Judge Gregory Werner denied defendant Bernadette Guthrie’s motion to dismiss Wilburn’s defamation lawsuit. Judge Werner ruled that Guthrie’s accusations went far beyond protected speech under the First Amendment.

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Garbo: Boulder wasn’t a clash, it was terrorism

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, State, Top Stories / June 2, 2025 / Antisemitism, Boulder, Domestic Terrorism, First amendment, Free Speech, National security, Political Violence, Public safety

What happened in Boulder was an act of terrorism, plain and simple. The alleged actions of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, targeting Jews in what authorities have rightly identified as an ideologically motivated, antisemitic attack, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It was not a “disturbance,” or a “clash,” or a “misunderstanding.” It was hate. And it was violent, deliberate, and evil.

This nation was founded on the principle that people of all faiths and backgrounds can worship, gather, and speak freely without fear. That principle was shattered in Boulder, and we cannot – must not – look away.

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Free speech fight hits Colorado: XX-XY Athletics sues over HB25-1312

Fox News, Approved, State / May 29, 2025 / First amendment, Free Speech, Gender Ideology, HB25-1312, Transgender athletes, Women’s Rights, XX-XY Athletics

EXCLUSIVE: The women’s activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics is suing the state of Colorado over a recent state law that the company claims would interfere with its ability to market its message.

The lawsuit takes aim at the state for passing a law called HB25-1312 and amending the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which defines “gender expression” to include “chosen name” and “how an individual chooses to be addressed.” The laws state Coloradans have a right to access “public accommodations and advertising” that are free of discrimination on that basis.

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Maryland school settles with student suspended for asking about American flag

Fox News, Approved, National / May 28, 2025 / American flag, Baltimore County Public Schools, First amendment, Free Speech, Patriotism, Student Rights, Youth Advocacy

Towson, Md. (WBFF) — It’s a story that grabbed national attention – a Maryland student, and prospective U.S. Marine, suspended while asking why classrooms in his high school did not contain American flags.

Project Baltimore first spoke with Parker Jensen in April. Soon after, he sued Baltimore County Public Schools. And now, that lawsuit has been settled.

It was just last month when Project Baltimore broke the news that Jensen, a Marine hopeful, was suspended from school for seven days, after he went to Baltimore County Public Schools headquarters to ask why some classrooms at Towson High were missing American flags. According to state law and BCPS school board policy, all classrooms must contain the flag.

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Colorado sued over law punishing ‘misgendering’: Doctors, parents cite First Amendment

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / May 23, 2025 / Civil Liberties, Compelled Speech, Deadnaming, First amendment, Free Speech, Gender Ideology, HB25-1312, Misgendering, Parental Rights, Religious freedom

Several organizations and a western Colorado dermatologist have filed a lawsuit seeking to block specific provisions of a recently signed state law that, as originally introduced, would have defined “deadnaming” and “misgendering” as discriminatory acts but whose final version had been heavily modified.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Defending Education, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, Protect Kids Colorado, and Do No Harm. Travis Morrell, a Grand Junction dermatologist and member of Do No Harm, is also a plaintiff.

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Colorado Christian camp sues state over gender facility access mandate

Fox News, Approved, State / May 20, 2025 / Alliance Defending Freedom, Biblical Values, Christian Camps, Faith And Family, First amendment, Gender Ideology, Parental Rights, Religious freedom, State Overreach

A Christian camp that has been operating since 1948 in Colorado is suing the state after the camp was told that it had to accommodate gender expression in bathrooms and a variety of other spaces.

“They feel like they’re honoring God in what they’re doing, and I feel like they should do that, to operate in a way that’s consistent with that,” camp volunteer and mother Leah Rohwer told CBS News in an interview.

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Christian Camp IdRaHaJe sues Colorado over forced gender policy: ‘Let us uphold biblical truth’

National Catholic Register, Approved, Local / May 16, 2025 / Alliance Defending Freedom, Camp IdRaHaJe, Children’s Camps, Christian Organizations, First amendment, Gender Identity Policy, Parental Rights, Religious Exemptions, religious liberty, Transgender Policy

A Christian summer camp network is suing the Colorado government over a state rule allowing males who identify as girls to be given access to girls’ showers, dressing areas, and sleeping facilities.

Camp IdRaHaJe — which separates private facilities on the basis of sex rather than self-asserted “gender identity” — filed the federal lawsuit against Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood on Monday.

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