First Amendment

Go Round and Round: Muni's Weird Relationship with Ads, Guns, and Middle Eastern Politics

Muni "Savages" "Jihad" Etc. Battling Mideast Bus Ads Fund Pending Study

After eight years of covering contentious Mideast issues through a San Francisco lens, your humble narrator can offer you a certainty: The path to peace will be forged via the least nuanced, most belligerent, and most disingenuous members of each community taking out shrill, competing ads on Muni. T ... More >>

Muni Will Now Run Anti-Gay Ads to Accompany Anti-Islamic Ads on Buses

If you were just starting to move on from Michelle Shocked's "God Hates Fags" remark she made here in San Francisco this week, best you take a (Muni) seat to read this story. Starting next month, Muni will run six bus ads featuring Muslim leaders bagging on gays. The Examiner reported the latest c ... More >>

Nudists to Sue SFPD Over Arrests

As promised, San Francisco's prolific public nudists resubmitted their claim against the city -- and this time the Police Department, too -- claiming their freedom to express themselves (aka be naked in public) was violated last month when they were arrested. On Friday, after a brief and naked pro ... More >>

Muni "Jihad" Ads on High-Visibility Bus Lines

Repeat business is usually a good sign, but Muni doesn't seem to be enjoying its second go-round as rolling billboards for the American Freedom Defense Initiative. Readers may have noticed the Osama bin Bus motoring around the city this week and stridently pro-Israel ads on buses last year. Muni cla ... More >>

Dancing Naked People to Bait Police and Hopefully Get Arrested

Public nudists have taken this whole being-naked-at-all-times thing to a brand new and musical level; now the naturists want police to come after them with cuffs any time they drop trou in public. So on Wednesday, notorious nudists Gypsy Taub and George Davis are going to try again to lure the cop ... More >>

The Only Thing Unsightlier Than Public Nudists Is Naked PETA Activists (Update)

Update 3:13 p.m.:PETA folks contacted us this afternoon, asking that we run an updated photo of the real PETA nudists so that you can see for yourself that they are in no way "unsightly." So here you go, the updated (NSFW) photo is to your right. Original Story 8 a.m.: It's clear PETA activists are ... More >>

S.F. Public Nudity Ban Upheld -- Lawyer Promises Friday Nude-In

Update 4:04 p.m.: Christina DiEdoardo, the attorney representing a quartet of nudists, tells us that her clients are disappointed by the judge's decision. But that won't stop nudists from dropping trou come Friday -- the day that public nudity will be officially illegal. Expect to see plenty of na ... More >>

Public Nudists Have 15 Days Left of Grossing People Out

We know there's gotta be some parents out there counting down the days from their kitchen calendar where they can safely take the kids on a family stroll to Dolores Park without fear of running into those freely flapping dicks. On Feb. 1, the new law banning most public nudity begins, which means ... More >>

Mendocino Fights Feds on Medical Marijuana Subpoena

A year ago, the federal Justice Department took aim at legal medical marijuana in Mendocino County. The feds warned that the county's novel cannabis plant licensing program, which generated cash and kept sheriffs patrolling the rural area, violated federal law and needed to go; otherwise county offi ... More >>

Public Nudists Get Naked During Board of Supervisors Meeting, One Arrested

It's official: Public nudity is soon to be a thing of the past in San Francisco. But until then, expect to see lots of T&A around town. Following the Board of Supervisors 7-4 vote passing the ban, about a half dozen nudists, led by Gypsy Taub, disrobed -- as promised -- and began shouting down ... More >>

Judge Temporarily Blocks Proposition 35, Sex Trafficking Law

Election Day has passed, and you know what that means: Now the lawsuits begin.Today a judge granted a temporary stay to block part of Proposition 35, the measure passed on Tuesday that says those convicted of sex trafficking should be restricted on the Internet. The measure also increases prison sen ... More >>

Hug Monsters: The Anti-Semitic Elmo Has Some Ugly Pals

Reddit Troll is Horrible, but Gawker Is Not Much Better

Few people look good after this week's outing of "the biggest troll on the Web" by Gawker. Certainly not the troll, and certainly not Reddit, where the troll was given free rein to post, or facilitate the posting, of all kinds of horrible stuff. But also not Gawker, nor many of the people weighing i ... More >>

Facebook: Should 'Like' Button Be Protected as Free Speech?

We've all seen the Facebook profiles supporting political candidates, the pages for protest, and the mass events that have been organized through this giant social network. Facebook has certainly made its mark on the political scene. Now, the Bay Area-based company wants a constitutional voice.Faceb ... More >>

Oakland Officials Want You to Tattle on Vandals Who Trashed the City in Occupy Protests

For those downtown business-owners miffed about the destruction of their storefronts during Occupy protests, well, here's their chance for sweet revenge. Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker and City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan are asking members of the public to snitch on nefarious protesters by tu ... More >>

Gary Stein, Marine Who Called Obama an "Enemy" on Facebook, Discharged

Gary Stein, the 27-year-old Marine who spewed anti-Obama rhetoric on his "Armed Forces Tea Party" Facebook page, was discharged yesterday, for popping off his political views. Pentagon policy, military prosecutors noted, limits military members' political speech while in uniform. But beyond handboo ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's 'Cold Case Posse' Concludes Obama's Birth Certificate is Fake

​We last heard from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio back in December, when a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco, grilled his lawyer on the sheriff's alleged violation of an Arizona newspaper's First Amendment rights. (Disclosure: That ne ... More >>

Appeals Court Judges Grill Arpaio's Lawyer on Alleged First Amendment Violations

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio​An 11-member panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had some tough questions today for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's lawyer about why "America's Toughest Sheriff" should be exempt from a lawsuit claiming he violated an Arizona ... More >>

List: What's the City's Excuse for Clearing Out Occupy SF?

​What are Mayor Ed Lee's excuses for gutting the Occupy SF camp?If our bocce ball courts aren't free, nobody's really freeTourists just hate it when they see a lot of San Franciscans doing something unusual in a public spaceThe messages on those cardboard signs are hurtfulIt's giving San Fran ... More >>

Alameda Gun Ordinance to Go Before Full 9th Circuit Appeals Court

​The quest for the rights of ordinary, hardworking Americans to carry bazookas and roll Abrams tanks across government property continues its slow advance. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has  agreed to revisit an Alameda County couple's claim that a law banning guns on county land ... More >>

Occupy SF Prepares for Police Raid Tonight

Kate CongerIs San Francisco next?​Update (5:45 p.m.): Department of Health officials led reporters through the encampment this evening as they inspected the area for violations. SF Weekly's Lauren Smiley says that Barbara Garcia, the director of the city's Health  Department, claims the toile ... More >>

South Bay Students Lose Court Battle Over "Incendiary" American Flag T-Shirts

You are not free to wear this t-shirt in Morgan Hill schools​Three Morgan Hill students got a crash course in American civics this week when they lost a lawsuit against high school officials who sent them home for wearing American Flag t-shirts to school. A judge dismissed the case against Live Oa ... More >>

Another Student Suspended for Dissing Teacher on Facebook

​We've seen a few times over the past year that the casual contact facilitated by Facebook is proving to be a sticky wicket for teachers and their students. Now a Louisiana high-school senior is arguing in federal court that he's the latest victim of unfair policing of online social space.The stud ... More >>

Mayor Ed Lee Tries to Appease Occupy SF Protesters, Cops

Ellen Huet​After five people were arrested Sunday at Justin Herman Plaza, Occupy SF protesters gathered at City Hall Tuesday afternoon to tell Mayor Ed Lee and the Board of Supervisors to just leave them alone. Tuesday's affair was nothing quite like what Rome experienced over the weekend, rather ... More >>

Republican S.F. Chair: I Never Wanted to Sic Government on SF Weekly

No, no, you guys at SF Weekly are fine...​Last week, we told you about how the head of San Francisco's Republican Party threatened to sic big government on our newspaper. Harmeet Dhillon, the boss of the local GOP, now tells SF Weekly that was never her intention. She didn't want to abridge our Fi ... More >>

Obama's New Marijuana Policies Also Target Alt-Weeklies and the Bill of Rights

Say, is that hemp? Kill it!​​In their unrelenting quest to kill legal medical marijuana dead, President Barack Obama and the United States Department of Justice appear content to incur collateral damage. Last week, property owners who rent to dispensaries were informed that the federal governmen ... More >>

Republican Party Chair Threatens to Sic Government on Newspaper

Write an offending article, face the consequences​If you write a newspaper article in San Francisco that rankles a political leader, the government can step in and punish you. That sounds like red meat for right-leaning forces on the Internet, setting off a firestorm of rants about the liberal idi ... More >>

Not Just Any Old Amendment

Supreme Court Shoots Down State Ban on Violent Videogames

Keep shooting, kids​Kids can continue to legally play ultraviolent videogames after the Supreme Court ruled this morning that California cannot restrict kids from buying or renting the shooting games.  The court voted 7-2 that such a ban, which was spearheaded by Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Franci ... More >>

Circumcision Ban Challenged: Religious Leaders File Lawsuit Today

Taylor FriedmanNo, this isn't a bris ceremony ​Update 1:25 p.m.: Jewish and Muslim plaintiffs file lawsuit challenging San Francisco's circumcision ban. Read more after the jump.We knew this was coming -- it was just a matter of time. The Jewish community has united with other religious groups to ... More >>

Google Maps Says It's Not to Blame for Pedestrian Hit by Car

Google the phrase "common sense"​If Google maps led you off a cliff, would you jump?Well, if you did make the plunge and got hurt in the process, the Bay Area media giant claims it wouldn't be at fault. Google is finding itself at the center of a bizarre and never ending lawsuit where a pedestria ... More >>

Internet 'Kill Switch' Bill -- What Is This, Egypt?

You can find Uma on the internet, too...​Looking back at the momentous goings on in Egypt of late, there are plenty of takeaways to go around. Here's one: Should the government have the power to sever society from the Internet?  U.S. lawmakers are considering another attempt to push through a ... More >>

ACLU Defends Student Who Called Teacher 'Douche Bag' on Facebook

Give me liberty or give me death, douche bags!​From the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights comes the latest tale of First Amendment issues in the digital age -- this one sparked by a high school sophomore who was suspended for calling his biology teacher a "douche bag" on Facebook.As California W ... More >>

Will New Online Impersonation Law Kill Faux Twitter Accounts?

Illegally funny?​Since the clock struck midnight on Jan. 1, it has been a misdemeanor in this state to malevolently impersonate someone on the internet. The "Malicious E-Personization Bill" authored by Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) outlaws the impersonation of another person on the web for the p ... More >>

Picturing Queer Literary History

Where are Wikileaks' Media Friends?

​Where are the First Amendment's establishment warriors as government-spooked businesses try to shut down Wikileaks? Hackers with computers, not hacks with press passes, have been the first line of resistance. More to come.

San Francisco Circumcision Ban Unconstitutional, Professor Says

Perform a brit milah, go to jail? ​San Francisco can have its proposed circumcision ban, or it can have the First Amendment. But it can't have both. That's the opinion of Peter Keane, dean emeritus at Golden Gate University School of Law and a constitutional law professor. The potential ballot mea ... More >>

'God Hates Fags' Westboro Baptist Church Brings its Insanity to San Bruno

Good Lord. What now? ​The Westboro Baptist Church took a break from picketing military funerals -- churchmembers believe the soldiers' deaths were God's will, as our nation coddles homosexuals. Yesterday, the church, almost entirely composed of members of the Phelps clan, protested at San Bruno's ... More >>

Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasies: Raunchy Album Covers That Didn't Make It

(Complete scene here.)All-around entertainer Kanye West announced the other day that his forthcoming album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, would come bundled with five different album covers. The only one we've seen so far is a painting by New York-based art-weirdo George Condo that depicts a n ... More >>

PG&E Will Reveal Pipeline Locations -- Sort Of

KTVT/KTXALook! There's one! ​In the wake of the San Bruno disaster, a number of environmental and First Amendment types have demanded PG&E disclose the routes of its riskiest gas pipes. The utility provider has declined, however, citing the risk that terrorists could capitalize on that sort of ... More >>

Violent Video Game Law Court Found Unconstitutional Has 72 Percent Approval: Poll

Ah, but is it Constitutional? ​According to a recent Zogby poll, 72 percent of Americans support a California law preventing the sale of ultra-violent videogames to children. And yet, the validity of that law isn't for Americans randomly picking up the phone to decide, but the nine justices of the ... More >>

Don't Ask Don't Tell Told Off

​The Week In GayLate yesterday, another radical hippie judge in California ruled that queers are protected by the U.S. Constitution. A lawsuit against the military ban on gay service members, Don't Ask Don't Tell, was ruled to be a violation of the First Amendment rights of gay people. The suit wa ... More >>

State bill makes malicious sock puppets a crime

Department of Homeland Security Sued Over Secret Traveller Files

Matt SmithWe'll collect all this personal information, y'see. And then we'll make a giant database...​San Francisco travel writer Edward Hasbrouck has sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over what he says is the agency's refusal to give a complete accounting of secret files detailing his ... More >>

Do You Have First Amendment Rights in San Francisco Parks or Not?

Now valid in National Parks! Right?​Jurisdictional lines are funny things. Here in San Francisco you can hoist your banners and beat your drum to express the message of your choosing per your First Amendment Rights -- until you tread onto Ocean Beach, the Presidio, or other federal land. The Natio ... More >>

S.F. State student who invoked Shield Law reveals murder scene photo in national contest

Whipped and Gagged

Is government spending obscene? Well, it paid to train S&M filmmakers.

Still Sticking It to the Man

Obsession Junction

Fishing with Morgan Spurlock, survivor of the 30-day McDonald's diet