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From left: Tom Fiedler, Donna Green, Margaret Sullivan, Judith Meyer, and Michael Donoghue at the New England First Amendment Coalitions annual awards luncheon on Friday.

The New England First Amendment Coalition presented its top honor to Margaret Sullivan, the media columnist for The Washington Post.

Sullivan accepted the Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award on Friday before a large crowd of journalists, lawyers, educators, students, and media executives at NEFACs annual awards luncheon at the Marriott Long Wharf.

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The award is named after the late publisher of the Providence Journal who passed away in 2005, and past recipients have included US Senator Patrick Leahy; former federal judge Nancy Gertner; former Globe editor Marty Baron; James Risen and Anthony Lewis of The New York Times; and GlobalPost founder Philip Balboni.

The New England First Amendment Coalition also presented Judith Meyer, executive editor of the Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine, with the Michael Donoghue Freedom of Information Award, and Donna Green of New Hampshire received the Antonia Orfield Citizenship Award.

Among those in attendance at the luncheon were Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition; Dan Kennedy of Northeastern University; Michael Rezendes, Larry Edelman, Emily Procknal, Jasmine Wu, Nick Osborne, and Linda Pizzuti Henry of the Globe; Mike Beaudet of WCVB-TV; Tom Fiedler, dean of the College of Communication at Boston University; and WBZ political analyst Jon Keller, who served as emcee.

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Margaret Sullivan receives First Amendment Award - The Boston Globe

These are strong-arm tactics of an authoritarian. Photograph: Pool/Getty Images

Those who said the presidency would change Donald Trump were correct. It has made him worse. In barring news outlets like the New York Times, CNN and the Guardian from a White House press briefing on Friday, the president has declared war on the First Amendment. In so doing he has attacked a cornerstone of democratic self-governance.

New York Times editor Dean Baquet said: Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. CNN, which the president has often labeled fake news, responded by saying: Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they dont like. Buzzfeeds editor echoed that point, saying this was an apparent attempt to punish news outlets.

On the same day that access was being denied to journalists at the White House, Trump was at CPAC continuing his ferocious attacks on the media: I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news, said Trump. They have a professional obligation as members of the press to report honestly. But as you saw throughout the entire campaign, and even now, the fake news doesnt tell the truth.

At the conference, Trump dismissed concerns about press freedoms. They always bring up the First Amendment he said.

The escalation has been swift but not unplanned. The opening salvo was chief strategist Steve Bannons labeling the press the opposition and telling it to keep its mouth shut. Then came Trumps tweet defaming the press as the enemy of the people. And now comes this denying some of the worlds most revered news organizations access to the White House.

These must be seen for what they are: the strong-arm tactics of an authoritarian. It is, in fact, a signature of authoritarian rulers that they turn the opposition into the enemy. The opposition is to be engaged and persuaded; the enemy is to be isolated and crushed.

The turning of the opposition into the enemy is often a prelude toward the final step of authoritarian consolidation: turning enemies into criminals. Do any of us dare to believe that Bannon, the system-destroyer, would shy away from this? And need we ask who is the real enemy of our constitutional democracy?

This radical attack cannot go unanswered. And the pushback must come from all corners in particular from congressional Republicans. We cannot rely on John McCain, Lindsay Graham, and Cory Gardner to be the lone voices of concern. Congressional Republicans stand at a difficult crossroads.

Opposing the president not only puts their agenda at risk but their political careers in jeopardy. Paul Ryan learned the hard way of the perils of crossing Trump, when he saw his approval ratings plummet after refusing to campaign on Trumps behalf in the latter stages of the national election.

The hazards of opposition are real on all sides. But members of Congress swear to uphold the Constitution, and this oath of public service requires defending our democracy from this extraordinary threat.

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The White House's radical attack on the First Amendment cannot go unanswered - The Guardian

The following might be offensive to some.

But that's okay, according to Rep. Wesley Morgan, R-Richmond. It's free speech and protected by the First Amendment of our nation's constitution.

A right, he said, that is being infringed upon on many of Kentucky's college campuses.

Morgan is trying to change that with Kentucky House Bill 127, or the Campus Free Expression (CAFE) Act, which will prohibit publicly-funded universities and colleges from restricting a student's right to free expression.

"I filed the bill because I believe in it, whole-heartedly," Morgan said. "You need to have the freedom of speech on college campuses. Students shouldn't be restricted to a circle 50 feet from the sidewalk."

Morgan said many state universities have policies that restrict student's First Amendment rights by forcing them into so-called "free speech zones."

The representative said these zones are often small areas hidden away from public view.

The CAFE Act will prohibit schools from imposing those types of zones, and defines any "outdoor areas of an institution's campus" as "traditional public forums."

"Students should have the right to express themselves in an open space and have the opportunity to have people listen to what they have to say," Morgan said. "It's a matter of fairness. Students have a right and it should be protected. There are public institutions of higher education that are not allowing students the right to have an open dialogue. You don't want that to continue in the state."

Kentucky House Bill 127 states clearly colleges "shall not restrict the right to free expression." In line with the Constitution, colleges can only place "reasonable" restrictions on the "time, place, and manner" of student expression. Even still, these restrictions must be "narrowly tailored... based on published, content-neutral, and viewpoint-neutral criteria... [and must] provide for ample alternative means of expression."

Inspired by Morgan's efforts to protect students' rights, Eastern Kentucky University's student government association (SGA) passed a bill endorsing HB 127 and encouraging other student governments across the state to do the same.

Sebastian Torres, EKU SGA executive vice president, said the bill passed unanimously and the organization has been working closely with Morgan and others to educate universities about the bill.

"It is a real issue on Kentucky campuses that needs to be addressed," Torres said of the fight to keep free speech. "It's not just Kentucky that has these policies that restrict students' First Amendment rights. At a university in Indiana, a group of students were arrested for passing out copies of the Constitution. This is real and it's happening."

In fact, on a recent trip to Murray State University, Torres said he and other SGA members had difficulty locating the campus' free-speech zone. After a search of the grounds, the students were directed to a small cement circle tucked away out of sight. Torres added students have to apply for a chance to speak in the zone and applications can be denied.

The EKU student said limiting an open exchange of ideas to a certain area on a college campus was "ridiculous" and goes against not only a right protected by the Constitution, but also the nature of higher education.

"Students come here to learn and grow and expand their ideas. We are trying to educate a workforce at this university and create productive citizens, but college is also a chance to have your ideas challenged and see if they stand up against facts," Torres said. "If it doesn't happen on a college campus, where do we expect it to happen."

Torres said you don't have to agree with everything said and you don't have to listen if you don't want to. He added free speech can be uncomfortable for some, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be said.

Torres said EKU's student government felt it was especially important to support Morgan's bill, due to the fact that EKU is the first "green light" school in the state.

The university earned that distinction from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which awards institutions of higher learning with a green, yellow or red categorization based on the constitutionality of speech policies.

In 2012, the university worked with FIRE attorneys to bring the campus into compliance with the Constitution and make the campus more First Amendment friendly.

Some of the important steps taken by the university included modifying vague wording in the student handbook and policies.

One example was the phrase in the student handbook that stated students should not "engage in a course of conduct intended to harass, seriously annoy and alarm another person." FIRE suggested the university amend the phrase "seriously annoy," as it goes against the First Amendment to regulate student speech in that manner.

Another part of the handbook read: "No one should either offend the wider community or infringe upon the rights and privileges of others."

"Sometimes people might find what you say offensive," Torres said. "However, I think what is becoming prevalent in today's society is the idea that if they find it offensive or uncomfortable then it should be stopped. That's infringing on free speech.

"Why should certain kind of speakers be banned from campus. That shouldn't be allowed, especially if a student group is sponsoring that speaker. Those that don't agree with the speaker don't have to listen to the lecture or they can bring in their own speaker who has a different viewpoint."

Another reason Torres said the SGA is promoting the bill is the fact that while the CAFE act protects students it also will protect universities. He said with budget crunches, it is not a good time for universities to get sued because it didn't have the forethought to not infringe on a student's right to free speech.

Torres said he hopes that other universities step-up and make their campus' more First Amendment friendly, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be happening.

"I wish that universities and colleges would do it on their own, but that is why it is so important for the state house to step in and go ahead and do it for them," he said. "Our SGA feels that this is an important issue for students and we feel compelled to let our legislators know that we are invested in our First Amendment right. I'm very proud of the SGA for endorsing this and we encourage every other student government to jump on the bandwagon."

Both Morgan and Torres said the new bill does not do away with university protections against hate speech, harassment or incitement of violence.

The CAFE Act provides universities with the ability to enforce certain restrictions on acts of free speech in an outdoor area of campus regarding reasonable time, place and manner. The bill makes it very clear these restrictions must have a clear, defendable basis, Torres said.

Torres said in no way does the bill encourage or enable hate speech and harassment by promoting the right of free speech for students.

"You are protected from any kind of violence or mistreatment," he said. "That doesn't mean you are protected against different ideas, views, cultures or opinions that you might not like."

Reach Ricki Barker at 624-6611 or follow her on Twitter @RickiBReports.

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Protecting free speech: House bill would protect students' First Amendment rights on campus - Richmond Register

Christine Emba edits The Posts In Theory blog.

Speech is free, but not consequence-free. Milo Yiannopoulos managed to skirt this reality for years, but eventually it comes for us all.

A quick recap for those who have not been following this sordid tale: MILO, as hes best known (all-caps his own), is an Internet personality and now-former Breitbart News senior editor best known for his glibly offensive remarks about minority groups, his hatred of political correctness and his support of Donald Trump.

Many on the right hailed Milo as a much-needed iconoclast, one of the few brave enough to defend free speech, speak uncomfortable truths and push back against the simpering social justice warriors of the left. After his charmingly titled Dangerous Faggot speaking tour was met with protests at college campuses, including some most notably at the University of California at Berkeley this month that turned violent, he was invited to speak at this years Conservative Political Action Conference.

This weekend, however, video emerged of Milo joking about pedophilia and molestation. In short order he was disinvited from CPAC, his book deal was canceled, and he resigned from Breitbart.

[If college liberals are so naive, why did the campus right fall for Yiannopoulos?]

It is interesting to consider that while the right championed his racist, misogynist invective as a much-needed tonic for our stifled public discourse, discussions of child sex abuse were not seen the same way. The defense of free expression seemed to go only so far as be free to insult those we already disagree with, but please, no further than that. For all the invocations of the First Amendment, there is apparently still a line. Milo crossed it, the end, goodbye. I, for one, do not look forward to his apology tour and inevitable transformation.

Yet the fact that a line exists at all brings to light a point often overlooked when free speech is bandied about as a hallowed but somehow threatened ideal. Yes, speech is free, but not free from dissent. You can say what you like, but no one has to listen to you. The fact that you have spoken something controversial in public does not make your provocation correct or worthy of acclaim.

The First Amendment guarantees that Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech. That is all. It does not say that private companies such as Facebook must promote all kinds of content equally, or that Simon & Schuster is obliged to hand out book contracts to everyone who wants one. It should not be stretched to imply that institutions must provide a platform for every opinion that comes their way. And while the First Amendment often makes it possible for individuals to challenge the dominant discourse, it gives them no more help than that.

Some myself included have argued that the best remedy for hateful speech is more speech, not less. But it is worth pointing out that more speech can take a number of forms. It could be the addition of other, opposing speakers to a lineup featuring a contentious guest. It could be a petition asking for the guest to be disinvited. It could be protesters telling said speaker to shut up and get off of their campus, or even calling the speaker a racist or Nazi. Some of these methods are far more productive than others, and some are less likely to promote useful discourse. But free speech also means that such responses must be allowed to occur and may well bring about consequences that the original speaker might not enjoy.

[At CPAC, conservatism betrayed]

Positive freedom relies on prudence. If the things you say provoke an intense and unpleasant reaction, it may be worth wondering whether your critics have a point. And if youre in favor of free speech when it comes to some topics but not others, perhaps you should investigate why your limits lie where they do.

The Milo debacle helpfully illustrates the limitations of invoking free speech to cast a benevolent glow on any and every injudicious statement, and the bind created when any opposition is cast as unjust, illiberal silencing. It may finally be time to stop flogging the First Amendment as some sort of get-out-of-jail-free card for foolish talk. Were wonderfully free to say whatever we want to. But that doesnt mean we should.

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Milo learns the First Amendment isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card for foolishness - Washington Post

Forbes

Amazon Argues Alexa Speech Protected By First Amendment In Murder Trial Fight Forbes Amazon is sticking to its guns in the fight to protect customer data. The tech titan has filed a motion to quash the search warrant for recordings from an Amazon Echo in the trial of James Andrew Bates, accused of murdering friend Victor Collins in ...

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Amazon Argues Alexa Speech Protected By First Amendment In Murder Trial Fight - Forbes