Topics: Categories of Laws and Proposed Laws

• Anarchy Statutes

  Most anarchy statutes were passed in the early 1900s in response to the growing visibility of anarchists. Attempts to stifle anarchy led to restrictions on...

• Anti-Discrimination Laws

  Laws that protect individuals from discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, age, religion, or sexual orientation often have First Amendment implications...

• Anti-Mask Laws

  Most anti-mask laws do not target specific groups. Instead, they typically ban mask wearing that intimidates. Opponents of such laws invoke First Amendment...

• Blue Sky Laws

  Blue sky laws refers to each state’s set of securities laws and regulations. The Supreme Court said that states can regulate speech to prevent securities...

• Breach of Peace Laws

  Breach-of-the-peace laws typically cover conduct that is disorderly and disturbs the peace of a community. Most states have such laws criminalizing certain...

• Campus Speech Codes

  Courts having ruled that college campus speech codes violate students’ First Amendment rights, but arguments that colleges have a legitimate interest in such...

• Conspiracy Laws

  There are concerns about conspiracy laws interfering with First Amendment rights by allowing governments to crack down on those who disagree with the positions...

• Curfews

  Curfew laws have been challenged on First Amendment grounds, leading some lower courts to overturn the laws unless they have exceptions for First Amendment-...

• Dress Codes

  Dress codes are typically set by schools and employers. Though dress codes face First Amendment challenges by students and others, courts generally support...

• English-Only Laws

  Many Americans believe that the ability to speak English should be a requirement of U.S. citizenship. English-only laws may violate the First Amendment rights...

• Gag Rule in Congress

  In the 1830s and 40s, Congress had a standing gag rule to table any antislavery petition discussion. John Quincy Adams argued against this rule and repealed it...

• Green River Ordinances

  Green River ordinances are local ordinances that prohibit individuals from engaging in door-to-door solicitations unless the residents have given their consent...

• Harmful to Minors Laws

  Harmful to minors laws seek to protect minors from pornography, obscenity and other material that may bring harm to them. Obscenity is not protected by the...

• Licensing and Permit Laws

  Licensing laws that restrict First Amendment rights must not be based on the content of the speech and can only regulate the time, place and manner of the...

• Loitering Laws

  Loitering laws can have a chilling effect on First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly and have been ruled as unconstitutional even after being rewritten...

• Loyalty Oaths

  The constitutionality of loyalty oaths is part of the struggle between the government's regulation of threats to national security and the First Amendment...

• Open Meeting Laws and Freedom of Speech

  Open meetings laws guarantee access by the public to meetings of governing bodies. All states adopted such laws by 1976. Access to government meetings is not...

• Panhandling Laws

  Panhandling is a form of solicitation. When municipalities regulate panhandling — a form of speech — First Amendment rights of the poor and dispossessed...

• Proclamations of National Days of Prayer or Thanksgiving

  Presidential proclamations concerning holidays date back to colonial times, when it was common for leaders to include requests for prayer and fasting...

• RICO Laws

  The application of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law (RICO) raises First Amendment questions implicating the freedom of association...

• Seditious Libel

  Cases involving the First Amendment and seditious libel, statements intended to provoke dissatisfaction with the government, arose during several eras in...

• Sexual Harassment Laws

  The creation of a hostile, intimidating work environment through sexual comments can constitute a type of sexual harassment that may implicate First Amendment...

• Shield Laws

  Although the Supreme Court hasn't recognized a First Amendment privilege for journalists to refuse to reveal their sources to a grand jury, most states have...

• Son of Sam Laws

  Son of Sam laws prohibit criminals from profiting from media about their crimes. The Supreme Court overturned New York's Son of Sam law as violating the First...

• Sunday Blue Laws

  The Supreme Court ruled in 1961 that while Sunday blue laws may have religious origins, they do not violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause...

• Zoning Laws

  While land-use zoning generally does not raise First Amendment issues, a government imposing controls to prevent certain businesses from operating may violate...