First Amendment Archives

Obama Uses IRS to Eliminate His Enemies

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:40-04:00December 4th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski and ACRU Senior Fellow Ken Blackwell was published December 3, 2013 on Breitbart.com.

“The power to tax involves the power to destroy,” the Supreme Court wrote in 1819, shortly after America began.

Now in 2013, President Barack Obama is launching a frightening attack on free speech, using one of the most feared agencies in all the federal government: the Internal Revenue Service.

One of the most roundly-condemned aspects of Richard Nixon’s malfeasance in office was his use of the IRS to target his political enemies with audits. If people shudder at Nixon’s abuses with the […]

Supreme Court Likely to Restore Freedom to Pray at Public Events

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:40-04:00November 11th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published November 7, 2013 on Breitbart.com.

Those seeking the right to pray at government events consistent with their religious beliefs seem poised for a major victory after the Nov. 6 oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Town of Greece v. Galloway.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are asking the Supreme Court to declare that faith-specific content in public prayers (which they call “sectarian” prayers) violates the Constitution, and so government bodies must tell pastors, priests, rabbis, and anyone else giving prayers that they cannot express any belief with which other people of faith might […]

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Public Prayer

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:57:06-04:00November 6th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published November 5, 2013 on Breitbart.com.

When does the Constitution not allow religious speech or displays in the public square or at public events?

This week, the Supreme Court will hear a case on prayer at legislative events, but the actual arguments presented to the justices could apply to every aspect of American life where religious faith intersects public places and events.

This Wednesday, Nov. 6, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Town of Greece v. Galloway. Congress, states, and local governments nationwide open their meetings with an invocation. The Supreme Court calls […]

ACLU to New York Cops: Drop Dead

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:41-04:00October 28th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published October 27, 2013 on The Washington Times website.

Imagine that it was Sept. 12, 2001, and you opened your newspaper, gazed in horror at the many photos of unspeakable carnage at the World Trade Center’s twin towers, and found this story: The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Justice Department to probe the surveillance of Muslim Americans by the New York City Police Department.

Fast forward to this past week, and you could have read it for real. The ACLU is upset that New York City police, who lost 23 officers when Muslim extremists […]

ACRU: ObamaCare Violates Freedom of Religion

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:41-04:00October 15th, 2013|

Brief filed on behalf of Liberty University says the cost of defying abortion order would be “crippling.”

ALEXANDRIA, VA (Oct. 15, 2013) — In an amicus brief submitted on October 9, the American Civil Rights Union asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case brought by Liberty University. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, the Christian college contends that forcing it through the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) to fund employee health insurance that covers abortions is unconstitutional.

In Liberty University v. Lew, Sibelius, et al, the ACRU brief, written by General Counsel Peter Ferrara, notes that, “if Liberty University fails to comply with the employer mandate […]

Symposium: Time to Restore Longstanding Meaning—and Sanity—to the Establishment Clause in Town of Greece v. Galloway

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:41-04:00October 4th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published October 3, 2013 on SCOTUSblog.com.

Town of Greece v. Galloway is a major Establishment Clause case involving legislative prayer. If the Supreme Court takes this opportunity—as it should—to replace both the manifestly unworkable original Lemon test and its equally unworkable revision, the endorsement test, with a historically grounded, principled, and objective coercion test, then this case will be of tremendous benefit to the law and the nation.

Those who believe in fidelity to the Constitution and democratic self-rule should hope for nothing less. And although an […]

Symposium: Time to Restore Longstanding Meaning—and Sanity—to the Establishment Clause in Town of Greece v. Galloway

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:41-04:00October 4th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published October 3, 2013 on SCOTUSblog.com.

Town of Greece v. Galloway is a major Establishment Clause case involving legislative prayer. If the Supreme Court takes this opportunity—as it should—to replace both the manifestly unworkable original Lemon test and its equally unworkable revision, the endorsement test, with a historically grounded, principled, and objective coercion test, then this case will be of tremendous benefit to the law and the nation.

Those who believe in fidelity to the Constitution and democratic self-rule should hope for nothing less. And although an […]

Supreme Court to Consider New Obamacare Case

By ACRU Staff|2023-03-10T08:04:40-05:00September 19th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published September 18, 2013 on Breitbart.com.

Obamacare is before the U.S. Supreme Court again. On Thursday, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) lawyers filed the first viable petition for Supreme Court review involving Kathleen Sebelius’ HHS Mandate, which requires employers to provide abortion-related insurance coverage, even if those employers have a religious objection to abortion.

Section 1001 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) requires all large employers to offer “preventive services” to their employees or face enormous financial penalties. With President Obama’s approval, Sebelius issued a regulation that defined preventive services […]

100 Years after Woodrow Wilson, Mark Levin Pens a Brilliant Response

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:58:15-04:00September 12th, 2013|

This column by ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara was published September 8, 2013 on Forbes.com.

One hundred years ago, Woodrow Wilson was leading a counterrevolution against the Constitution. Unfortunately, he was doing it from the White House, as President of the United States. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Wilson was one of the early leaders of the so-called Progressive Movement, which was an open conspiracy against the Constitution from the start. Former President of Princeton University, he had the haughty attitude of superiority that marks so-called “Progressives” to this day. He […]

Congress, States, And Even Obama's DOJ Rally To Prayer-Givers' Defense

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:42-04:00August 9th, 2013|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published August 8, 2013 on Breitbart.com.

Congress, half of the states across the nation, and many others are rallying to defend public prayer in a major case at the U.S. Supreme Court. Even the Obama administration weighed in with a surprising legal brief in what is shaping up to be a major religious-liberty case—and could even become the biggest religious-liberty win in over half a century.

This is an update to our on Town of Greece v. Galloway, regarding whether prayers at government events are an unconstitutional violation of […]