By Steve Klein The Merriam-Webster Dictionary entry for "journalism" begins with two terse, distinct definitions: "a: the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media[;] b: the public press[.]" Under the First Amendment, the protection of "the freedom of . . . the press" appropriately tracks the first, broader definition. Ameri...

by Steve Klein Defense Distributed has a mission to design and share open-source projects for personal manufacture of firearms, including the use of 3D printing. Its first big success, the Liberator, was, indeed, a shot heard around the world. After settling with the State Department in June and ending a case in which the Obama administration argue...

Free speech is under attack from three main sources around the world. Government repression has increased. After the Soviet Union fell, Russia enjoyed a free-for-all. Alas, today Mr. Putin has tightened the muzzle again. A number of non-state actors are at that game. Journalists in Mexico who investigate corruption may end up dead. Jihadists shoot ...

by Benjamin Barr More discontent emerges out of Wyoming's Democratic Party caucuses, where Hillary Clinton obtained most of the state delegates even after losing the popular vote to Bernie Sanders. This newest wave of anger and confusion over caucuses and primaries is part of a national trend. Last month, Donald Trump threatened a lawsuit when, aft...

by Wyoming Liberty Staff The United States Supreme Court unanimously struck down a town's sign regulations in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona because the regulations violated the First Amendment's free speech guarantee. In so doing, the Court reminded Americans and their local governments that First Amendment free speech rights are foundational to...

by Stephen Klein On Friday the Institute for Justice (IJ) won an important free speech victory against the Washington Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). IJ charitably refers to the PDC as "bullies." I think a more apt description of the PDC is "free-speech-hating thugs." Following a victory against such opposition, gloating is not only appropriate...

With last week's tragedy in France, it is important to pause and reflect on the importance of that most inimical of liberties, free speech. It is with fortune that America is not a regular witness to physical retaliation when dissident and unorthodox ideas are communicated. However, our national cultural and legal respect for free speech slowly dwi...

In late September I submitted comments to the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information ("A&I") opposing two proposed changes to the State of Wyoming Personnel Rules. My memo discussed two vague and overbroad provisions, one which could lead to unconstitutional abridgements of free speech and the other which unequivocally punished ap...

As Wyoming and other states consider expanding the reach of campaign finance laws to capture "dark money," some consideration of what's happening in Chicago is helpful. Aggressive campaign finance regulations, touted as combatting corruption, allow for easy manipulation of the law. We learned last week that Rahm Emanuel pulled in $400,000 in campai...

CHEYENNE – Wyoming Liberty Group attorneys Benjamin Barr and Steve Klein filed an amicus curiae (friend-of-the-court) brief in the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals at Dallas, arguing that a political contributor's convictions for organized crime, bribery and money laundering for campaign finance violations unconstitutionally abridge his First Amendment...