Email from The Institute for Free Speech The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech September 11, 2025 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. In the News Colorado Newsline: Appeals court hears arguments in suit over ‘respectful’ speech rules at Colorado legislature By Lindsey Toomer .....A federal appeals court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case challenging the ability of Colorado legislators to require respectful speech during legislative hearings. The initial lawsuit, filed last year in the U.S. District Court of Colorado, claimed the state legislators named as defendants violated the plaintiffs’ right to free speech by stopping them from misgendering and deadnaming transgender people during their testimony in a legislative committee hearing. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Rich Guggenheim and Christina Goeke, seek damages and for the court to block enforcement of decorum rules around respectful language in committee hearings at the Colorado General Assembly. New from the Institute for Free Speech Free Speech Arguments – Can Legislative Committees Ban ‘Misgendering’ During Public Comment? (Gays Against Groomers, et al. v. Garcia, et al.) .....Gays Against Groomers, et al. v. Garcia, et al., argued before Judges Joel M. Carson, David M. Ebel, and Richard E. N. Federico in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on September 10, 2025. Argued by Institute for Free Speech Senior Attorney Del Kolde (on behalf of Gays Against Groomers, et al.) and Edward T. Ramey (on behalf of Garcia, et al.) Background of the case [from the Institute for Free Speech case page]: Colorado legislators’ actions to suppress and ban disfavored speech during public comment time on HB24-1071, dubbed “Tiara’s Law,” represent an alarming assault on First Amendment rights. Free Expression Wall Street Journal: The Murder of Charlie Kirk By The Editorial Board .....The killing of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and a prominent political leader on the right, is another horrifying scene in a country that is heartsick of witnessing them. Kirk was appearing at a public event Wednesday in a courtyard on the campus of Utah Valley University when he was shot in the neck… This is a now dangerous moment for the country, which could descend into a cycle of political violence that would be hard to arrest. President Trump survived two assassination attempts. In June two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota were shot, one of whom was killed. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was firebombed in April. Three years ago a contemplated assassin gave himself up outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house. Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in 2017 and Rep. Gabby Giffords in 2011. New York Times: Charlie Kirk’s Horrific Killing and America’s Worsening Political Violence By The Editorial Board .....Such violence is antithetical to America. The First Amendment — the first for a reason — enshrines our rights to freedom of speech and expression. Our country is based on the principle that we must disagree peacefully. Our political disagreements may be intense and emotional, but they should never be violent. This balance requires restraint. Americans have to accept that their side will lose sometimes and that they may feel angry about their defeats. We cannot act on that anger with violence. Too many Americans are abandoning this ideal. Thirty-four percent of college students recently said they supported using violence in some circumstances to stop a campus speech, according to a poll from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression published a day before the Kirk shooting. Since 2021, that share has risen from 24 percent, which was already unacceptably high. Surveys of older adults are similarly alarming. The Courts Bloomberg Law: New Mexico Political Donor Disclosure Law is Constitutional By Mallory Culhane .....A New Mexico law requiring disclosure of those who sponsor some political messaging squares with the US Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The state demonstrated a “substantial relation” between its campaign disclosure law and interest of the government and the public to know who the large donors are behind those advertisements, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said. The panel affirmed, 2-1, a district court’s grant of summary judgment to the state. New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act is also narrowly tailored such that it only captures “larger expenditures that are express advocacy or made ... NBC News: Confederate school name violates Virginia students' First Amendment rights, judge rules By Daniel Arkin .....In a win for plaintiffs, a Virginia federal judge has ruled that a school board’s decision to reinstate the name of a Confederate general on a public high school violated students’ First Amendment rights, effectively turning them into “mobile billboards” for a message they may not endorse. In a 71-page opinion Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael F. Urbanski said students who attend Stonewall Jackson High School in Shenandoah County cannot be compelled to be carriers of Jackson's name and the pro-slavery historical legacy he represents. Trump Administration New York Times: Trump Moves to Crack Down on Drug Advertising By Rebecca Robbins, Christina Jewett, and Dani Blum .....President Trump signed a memorandum on Tuesday directing his administration to revive a decades-old policy that is likely to sharply restrict advertising of prescription drugs on television. The move reflects one of the top priorities of the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly called for a ban on drug advertising on television. The policy change threatens to dent the revenues of pharmaceutical companies. The memorandum also stands to hit major television networks, which earn substantial revenue from pharmaceutical advertisers trying to reach older viewers. The proposal, which would effectively reverse a 1997 policy change that opened the floodgates to a deluge of TV drug advertising, is likely to be aggressively opposed by the drug industry, which has long had the courts on its side on this issue. Past efforts to even modestly restrict drug advertising have been blocked by the courts on First Amendment grounds. The White House said it planned to change the policy via a rule-making process. Wall Street Journal: Former FBI Leaders Accuse Kash Patel of Carrying Out Political Purge By Sadie Gurman .....FBI Director Kash Patel privately acknowledged that the White House told him to fire anyone who worked on investigations of President Trump, according to a lawsuit brought by three senior officials who say they were illegally terminated in the purge. “The FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it,” Patel told one of the ousted officials, describing the firings as “likely illegal” but necessary to save his own job, the lawsuit filed on Wednesday said. The lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C., on behalf of Spencer Evans, Steve Jensen and Brian Driscoll, the veteran agent who temporarily led the bureau while Patel was awaiting Senate confirmation. International New York Times: A Censorship Playbook Fails in Nepal, Sparking Unrest By Jenny Gross .....When Nepal’s government blocked access to social media platforms last week, it was following a familiar playbook used by leaders of neighboring countries to tighten control. What was not part of the playbook was the huge backlash that followed. In Nepal, the ban set off the worst unrest in decades, unleashing pent-up outrage over corruption and economic inequality. By Tuesday morning, the Nepali government had reversed course, reinstating access to all 26 of the platforms blocked last week, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat. The States Arizona Republic: Arizonans said 'no' to secret political donations. They could be overruled By Taylor Seely .....The Arizona Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Sept. 11 challenging the Voters Right to Know Act, a ballot measure 72% of Arizona voters passed in 2022. The law requires groups that spend tens of thousands of dollars on election causes to identify big-money donors. The challenge was filed by the Goldwater Institute, a libertarian legal firm, and argues the law violates the Arizona Constitution by eliminating individuals' free speech rights to donate anonymously. They say forced disclosure, and the fact government would disclose those donors online, would chill their freedoms. "We live in a time where I think everyone knows retaliation for unpopular views could be swift and widespread and even potentially devastating," Goldwater attorney Scott Freeman said. Ed. note: Read our amicus brief in support of plaintiffs-appellants here. Texas Tribune: Texas State fires professor accused of trying to incite political violence in video By Ayden Runnels .....A Texas State University professor was fired on Wednesday after he was accused of inciting violence in a video of him speaking at a socialism conference posted on social media. 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