ABSTRACT
Forums of Freedom L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
After reading this chapter you should know: Whether a specific location is a
public or non-public forum in terms of free expression
How the principle of viewpoint discrimination prevents enforcing certain types of laws
How far free expression goes for students on campuses of public education
Why some public institutions can restrict freedom of expression more than others
That public employees are free to speak out at work on some issues but not others
The difference between strict scrutiny and intermediate scrutiny
What fighting words restrict in terms of imminent danger
How the infliction of emotional or physical harm is considered unlawful when it is judged as a foreseeable event
THE UMBRELLA OF FREE EXPRESSION It was not meant to be a joke. A nine-year-old boy stood outside the U.S. Supreme Court holding a picket sign proclaiming that “God Hates You.” Others beside the youth held pointed references to their belief God was displeased with the nation for tolerating homosexual acts and abortion. The youth was the grandson of a Kansas-based minister, Rev. Fred Phelps, who along with other members of Phelps’s family became symbols of religious protest at funerals for American soldiers killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were standing outside the Supreme Court building because the father of one dead soldier, whose funeral had been subjected to their protests received permission to argue his case against them before the Court.
