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Category: Free Speech

Ron Calzone Explains Our Citizen Activist Speech Case

Ron Calzone Explains Our Citizen Activist Speech Case

In the above video, Ron Calzone explains in his own words the basis and critical importance of our Citizen Activist Free Speech case.  This case involves a Missouri statute that requires citizen activists to register as lobbyists and (under threat of huge fines and criminal penalties) to file regular reports with the government regarding efforts to talk to government officials about public policy – even if no one is paying the activist to speak on their behalf.  The Missouri Ethics…

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If You’re Just Learning About the Freedom Center

If You’re Just Learning About the Freedom Center

Recent publicity has resulted in a spike in the number of people trying to learn about the Freedom Center of Missouri and the work that we do.  If you’re one of the folks just now hearing about our work, we’re glad you’re checking out our website.  The “About Us” section will give a general overview of our mission, our staff, and our Board of Directors, but in this post we wanted to highlight several of the successes we’ve seen over…

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Extended Thoughts on the Police Officer’s Suit Against Black Lives Matter

Extended Thoughts on the Police Officer’s Suit Against Black Lives Matter

Last week a Baton Rouge police officer wounded in an ambush that killed three officers and wounded two others filed a lawsuit, Officer John Doe Smith v. Black Lives Matter, et al., claiming that Black Lives Matter, and several of its most prominent activists, should be held liable for the injuries he suffered.  Over the weekend a journalist asked Dave for comment on the lawsuit, which has resulted in his being quoted by PBS NewsHour (twice), the Washington Post, and the Atlantic.  By necessity,…

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Missouri Supreme Court: Voters’ Rights Not Burdened By Limiting Their Choice To Only One Candidate

Missouri Supreme Court: Voters’ Rights Not Burdened By Limiting Their Choice To Only One Candidate

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In a sharply divided 4-3 opinion the Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that the only choice listed on the ballot for voters in the State House District 76 will be their incumbent State Representative, Joshua Peters. Peters had been facing competition from political activist Rachel Johns, but Peters sued to have his opposition removed from the ballot, arguing that when the election takes place this fall Johns will only have been a registered voter for twenty-one months and state law…

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PRESS RELEASE: Protecting the Right to Protest

PRESS RELEASE: Protecting the Right to Protest

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    April 8, 2016 CONTACT:  Dave Roland PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO PROTEST: Candidate Challenges Laws That Keep Political Protesters Off Election Ballots Mexico, Missouri—In 1999 the U.S. Supreme Court held that refusing to register to vote is an expressive act protected by the First Amendment because “there are those individuals for whom the choice not to register to vote implicates political thought and expression.”  Rachel Johns is one of those individuals. “In 2014, as an African American…

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VICTORY: St. Louis County Can No Longer Ban Minor Parties, Independent Candidates From Ballots

VICTORY: St. Louis County Can No Longer Ban Minor Parties, Independent Candidates From Ballots

St. Louis County officials may no longer ban minor parties and independent candidates from special election ballots. In an important victory for voters and candidates dissatisfied with the two major political parties, U.S. District Judge Ronnie White has signed an order that permanently prohibits the county and its election officials from enforcing a charter provision that limited voters’ choices to only candidates representing the two major political parties. Last January, the Constitution Party of Missouri attempted to nominate St. Louis…

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VICTORY: Federal Judge Will Rule On Whether St. Louis County May Block Minor Parties, Independent Candidates From Ballot

VICTORY: Federal Judge Will Rule On Whether St. Louis County May Block Minor Parties, Independent Candidates From Ballot

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A few weeks after the Freedom Center filed suit against St. Louis County for denying Cindy Redburn and the Constitution Party of Missouri a place on a recent special election ballot, the County and its Board of Election Commissioners jointly agreed to a court order that would put Redburn and the Constitution Party on the ballot and would also allow the plaintiffs’ First Amendment challenge to go forward. Curiously, however, just ten days after signing on to that agreed order,…

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U.S. Supreme Court Hands Down Important Victory for Free Speech

U.S. Supreme Court Hands Down Important Victory for Free Speech

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Today the U.S. Supreme Court handed down one of the most important Free Speech cases in recent memory.  The case seems simple on its face – a town imposed a range of restrictions on the types of signs citizens could put up, where those signs could be placed, and for how long they could be posted, with different restrictions applying to different types of signs.  Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that the sign…

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VICTORY: St. Louis County Officials Add Redburn, Constitution Party to Special Election Ballot

VICTORY: St. Louis County Officials Add Redburn, Constitution Party to Special Election Ballot

  P.O. Box 693        Mexico, Missouri      www.mofreedom.org      (314) 604-6621   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                CONTACT:  Dave Roland February 13, 2015                                                                              …

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POLITICAL INSIDERS ONLY: Freedom Center Sues St. Louis County for Excluding Third-Parties, Independent Candidates from Election

POLITICAL INSIDERS ONLY: Freedom Center Sues St. Louis County for Excluding Third-Parties, Independent Candidates from Election

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For Immediate Release:                                                          Contact:  Dave Roland ​January 30​, 201​5 ​ONLY POLITICAL INSIDERS WELCOME:  Freedom Center Sues St. Louis County For Banning Independent and Third-Parties From Election  St. Louis, Missouri—Democracy in the United States is frequently described as a “two-party” system, but it is both common and necessary for the health and integrity of our political system…

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