First Amendment

Reader: Commenter Donkey Hotay is at a turning point

It was a sad moment yesterday when "Budd Jones," who appeared on the web a week or so ago to urge (very) frequent commenter DonkeyHotay to mellow out, seemed to be signing off. In a response to a post (and many DonkeyHotay comments) about a likely lawsuit over the new law that would treat pot public ... More >>

Evan Makovsky, Colorado Preservation honoree, saved El Chapultepec: Will trains be next?

While the truncated 4/20 festivities have turned Civic Center Park into ground zero for a discussion of which events are a First Amendment exercise and which are commercial, the Civic Center Conservancy will soon take a pot-free breather. On May 8, the Civic Center Conservancy, Historic Denver Inc. ... More >>

Photos: Motorcyclists rally at State Capitol for individual rights -- and against gun laws

Roaring engines announced their arrival and wailing sirens accompanied their departure. Approximately forty motorcyclists from the Colorado Coalition of Independent Riders and the Confederation of Clubs lined their bikes along Lincoln Street in front of the Capitol building before crossing the stree ... More >>

Aborted fetus photos: Should protestors be allowed to display them where kids might see?

Should abortion protestors be allowed to wave signs featuring "gruesome images" in places where children might see them? That's the question two Colorado anti-abortion advocates and the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, a national pro-life law firm, want the U.S. Supreme Court to answer. "Children ... More >>

Franklin Sain's racist and sexist anti-gun control e-mails are protected free speech, attorneys say

Franklin Sain, the government contractor arrested last week after sending racist and sexist e-mails to Representative Rhonda Fields, a prominent backer of gun-control legislation (see our previous coverage below), has now been formally charged with two counts, including harassment-ethnic intimidatio ... More >>

Scott Gessler is off the hook from Westword, but not from everybody

We won't be pressing charges against Scott Gessler for taking more than five copies of Westword -- although there have certainly been hints that we should call the Denver District Attorney's office to see if Colorado's controversial Secretary of State could be prosecuted for violating the state's ne ... More >>

Revenge porn: Owner Craig Brittain says he's proud of site for "involuntary" nude photos

Earlier this week, we told you about a Colorado Springs website that specializes in so-called revenge porn -- explicit photos shared by ex-lovers and the like, apparently in an effort to humiliate their former partners; see our previous coverage below. Now, we've got video of the man behind the site ... More >>

"Mustang" isn't the only controversial public art in Colorado

See also: After five years, it might be time for "Mustang" to mosey on

Scott Gessler calls for fewer limits on campaign finance -- to protect free speech

Restrictions on campaign finance are ultimately violations of free speech rights and do little to foster fair elections. At least that's the argument of Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who, in a speech yesterday, said he would like to see fewer limitations on campaign finance, arguing ... More >>

Amendment 65: Colorado's push for campaign-finance limits wins in landslide

Colorado voters -- and even small children -- were exposed to a seemingly absurd amount of political advertising this year in a battleground state that wound up not being a key to President Barack Obama's victory. Perhaps that is why residents overwhelmingly passed the state's other measure on the ... More >>

Hot Times

Benjamin Szycher busted after racial-slurring, F-bombing, cop-punching outburst

During his recent arrest in Boulder, Benjamin Szycher insisted that he was being fitted for cuffs in violation of his First Amendment rights; get details from the vivid police report on view below. And he certainly used his speech freely during a bizarre incident that allegedly included him punching ... More >>

Gary Hart on his new novel, Citizens United and stubborn Republicans

Over the last four decades Gary Hart has been a major force in politics -- from "inventing" the Iowa caucuses while managing George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, to unintentionally creating the template for political sex scandals with the "monkey business" photo during his 1987 run for the ... More >>

Ward Churchill's Colorado Supreme Court loss shows judges protect the powerful, lawyer says

In June, attorney David Lane appeared before the Colorado Supreme Court to argue that former CU-Boulder professor Ward Churchill should be reinstated, since a jury found his firing to be payback for a controversial 9/11 essay. But on the eve of the latest 9/11 anniversary, the court rejected this b ... More >>

Boulder judge rejects restraining order against city's most annoying critic

Update: Today, Judge David Archuleta rejected Boulder's request for a permanent restraining order against Seth Brigham, a vocal critic whom a workplace-violence expert deemed dangerous without having met him and sans any actual attacks or explicit threats; see our previous coverage below. Brigham is ... More >>

Photo: James Holmes-Obama billboard's message defended by conservative group

In the immediate aftermath of the Aurora theater shooting, President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney backed off politics for a few days. But the pair are back to going after each other hammer and tongs, as are their supporters -- like a group in Idaho that pr ... More >>

Will the real Rick Strandlof please stand up?

Also read: Stolen Valor was born in Colorado before dying with the Supreme Court

Stolen Valor was born in Colorado before dying with the Supreme Court

In this week's cover feature, "Will the Real Rick Strandlof please stand up?," Westword delves into the fascinating story of 35-year-old college student Rick Strandlof, whose past false identities ended with a second chance last month. On June 28, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned th ... More >>

Mike Zinna: Jeffco on hook for legal fees in costly court battle

When developer-turned-muckraker Mike Zinna won a modest $1,791 judgement against a former Jefferson County commissioner in 2009, after years of convoluted intrigues and litigation, his supporters hailed the decision as an important, if largely symbolic, victory for the rights of online government cr ... More >>

THC driving bill approved by Colorado Senate

In January, Senator Morgan Carroll told us she feared Senator Steve King's reboot of the THC driving bill would be difficult to kill due to a clever maneuver that avoided her committee -- and the tricks didn't stop there. The measure appeared to die on the Senate floor a short time ago, but it was c ... More >>

Steve Meyer, ex-mailman turned sign-flier, kicks off our new Street People series

If the mountains to the West are the first thing that Denver's visitors notice, the second are all the people standing on corners holding signs? While panhandlers, as they're commonly known, are sheltered by the First Amendment, Denver' sign-fliers are also prohibited from using profanity or being a ... More >>

4/20 at CU-Boulder will be a drag, so go to Denver, university says

With a judge ruling yesterday that CU-Boulder can go ahead with its plan to close Norlin Quad and ban visitors from campus as a way of shrinking the annual 4/20 event, people who'd planned to mark the day in Boulder have a choice -- face cops lined up at every CU entrance, look for somewhere else in ... More >>

Dick Cheney-Steve Howards case goes before the Supreme Court

Last December, we noted that the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to hear an appeal by Steve Howards, who claimed that his free speech rights had been chilled by Secret Service agents when he approached then-Vice President Dick Cheney in Colorado circa 2006. Yesterday, the case reached the nation's hig ... More >>

Political ads: "Magic words" ruling that boosts 527s disappoints Colorado Ethics Watch

The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that political organizations dubbed 527s can spend unlimited funds for state candidates as long as the ads they're financing don't include so-called "magic words" such as "vote for" or "defeat." The decision is a disappointment for Colorado Ethics Watch, which b ... More >>

Supreme Court will decide whether it's okay to lie about military service

Is lying about being a decorated combat vet particularly heinous? Or is 2005's Stolen Valor Act, which made it a misdemeanor offense to make false claims about receiving service medals and awards, unconstitutional because it violates the wannabe warrior's First Amendment rights?

Occupy Denver update: 100-plus arrests, more charges added, one case misplaced

In the almost five months that Occupy Denver has maintained a presence downtown, the group has experienced more than 100 arrests. Add to this mix upwards of seventy lawyers, hundreds of court dates and an attempt at a federal injunction, and the results become tough to track. Yesterday, Westword cau ... More >>

Occupy the Courts: Move to Amend announces a national day of protest

​It was the sixteenth anniversary of the Million Man March, October 16, 2011, and thousands gathered in Washington for a ceremony dedicating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Steve Justino, co-chair of Colorado's Move to Amend, remembers sitting by his computer in Colorado losing sleep -- ... More >>

Occupy Boulder to see same park curfew ban Occupy Denver faces

After hearing comments from the public and city council last night, Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam is finalizing an ordinance that will close all city parks to residents from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. daily. Despite debate from Occupy Boulder, city officials backed the bill mirroring Denver's own p ... More >>

Boulder park closure issue opened to public discussion after pressure from Occupy Boulder

After Occupy Boulder pressured the city for weeks to deny its newly proposed park closure rule, Boulder's City Council Agenda Committee has opened the issue for a public hearing on January 3. If passed, the proposal will enforce a curfew similar to that of Denver, requiring city parks and recreation ... More >>

Civic Center Parks wins national masonry award one week after being set on fire

In the past three months, Civic Center Park has been lived in, spray-painted on, used as a venue for First Amendment freedoms and even set on fire during its tenure as the physical and ideological home to Occupy Denver. This month, the well-loved and well-used park earned national attention on a mor ... More >>

Occupy Denver: David Lane says refusal to grant restraining order a civil rights tragedy

​Update by Michael Roberts: Attorney David Lane doesn't foresee appealing a court's refusal to grant a temporary restraining order on behalf of Occupy Denver protesters, who claim their First Amendment rights have been systematically squelched. However, he has strong words for case overseer Ju ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Woman leads police on a chase to donate food on Thanksgiving

Depending upon what you'd expect of a Thanksgiving spent with Occupy Denver in the Angriest City in America, you might or might not be surprised to learn what was on the menu. Including a short (but sweet) police chase.

Occupy Denver marks its two-month anniversary today: the photo story

Today marks the two-month anniversary of Occupy Denver, a movement cemented in three firm evictions, four large-scale altercations, eight Saturday marches, and more than eighty arrests, many of them repeat charges. Six days after the anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, the branch that started it all, ... More >>

Dr. Louis Hampers, accused of stalking Deborah Sherman: No extra house arrest freedoms

News that reporter Deborah Sherman is out at 9News -- and the dearth of details as to why -- has dragged disgraced doctor Louis Hampers into the news again. Westword first reported on the link between the two; Sherman claims former ER doc Hampers stalked her after she broke a second date with him. I ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Highest bond rate yet, photojournalist among 20 arrested

​Last night's altercation between police and protesters at Occupy Denver ended with as many as twenty arrests, from the now-typical charges of disobeying a lawful order and obstructing a passageway to defacing public property and two investigations of felony assault on a police officer. Today' ... More >>

Occupy Denver: John Hickenlooper, Michael Hancock ban camping, arrests could follow

Hickenlooper.​The political triumvirate of Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers held a joint news conference this morning aimed firmly at dispersing the ever-growing camp at Occupy Denver. Protesters will no longer be allo ... More >>

Occupy Denver to hold press conference at 10 p.m. about being kicked off Capitol grounds

​Members of the Occupy Denver movement will hold a press conference at 10 p.m. in the wake of Governor John Hickenlooper and Mayor Michael Hancock's announcement that the group can no longer camp out on the grounds of the Colorado State Capitol overnight. The group issued a press release this ... More >>

Medical marijuana ads for happy hours, back-to-school specials could face new Boulder reg

​Boulder may have a reputation as the Weed Capitol of the United States, but the city's medical marijuana center licensing requirements are arguably tougher than Denver's. And they could get even more stringent if city council passes an MMJ advertising proposal it'll mull over tonight.

Original location of troubled Quiznos chain still on the USA Pro Cycling Challenge course

Ryan Wheeler, Westboro Baptist Church target, glad picketers didn't ruin Ponderosa graduation

Ponderosa High.​The members of Topeka, Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church are notorious for many things, including signs that read "God Hates Fags" and protests of military funerals. But for them to plan a protest at his graduation was a shocker Ponderosa High senior Ryan Wheeler wasn't ready to ... More >>

Medical marijuana advocate's call not to disturb legislative process for bill stirs controversy

Greg Goldfogel.​ The Cannabis Therapy Institute sent out an "action alert" to its members regarding today's planned second reading of HB 1260, a bill to set THC driving limits. But after a similar alert last week regarding HB 1250, which originally sought to ban all MMJ edibles, infused-produc ... More >>

Top 8 Westboro Baptist Church insults against Colorado

Fred Phelps.​This week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Westboro Baptist Church's right to protest at military funerals, typically by claiming that God killed the soldier in question as punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality. This ruling is likely to further energize Reverend ... More >>

El Paso County Jail's postcard-only policy is returned to sender

​Prisoners in El Paso County got an early Christmas present yesterday, when county officials agreed to stop limiting outgoing inmate mail to just postcards. The ACLU had filed suit against that policy, which the El Paso County Jail adopted this summer, arguing that such restrictions for prison ... More >>

Colorado Ethics Watch case about political ads' "magic words" heads to state supreme court

Luis Toro.​Colorado Ethics Watch is on a roll. Back in September, the organization successfully argued that Clear the Bench Colorado, which wanted to throw the bums off the Colorado Supreme Court, should have registered as a political committee subject to donation limits rather than an issues ... More >>

"Marriage is so gay" T-shirt: Colorado Springs' Falcon High School drops ban after ACLU letter

Large photo below.​Update: Well, that didn't take long. Only hours after the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to an El Paso County school district demanding that Falcon High School student Kate Cohn be allowed to wear a T-shirt that reads "marriage is so gay," the principal who ori ... More >>

Last night: Call of Duty: Black Ops midnight release

​There have been rumors on the Internet the last few days saying that Call of Duty: Black Ops might be the biggest launch in video-game history -- which is actually saying quite a bit, considering people were saying the exact same thing last year about another game in the series, Call of Duty: ... More >>

Ward Churchill case: CU firing should be nixed in name of academic freedom, says David Lane

Ward Churchill.​In February, controversial former CU professor Ward Churchill launched a new effort to win back his old job -- one that brought him to the Colorado Court of Appeals yesterday. How does Churchill's attorney, David Lane, think it went? "It's really difficult to read tea leaves b ... More >>

Douglas Bruce wins 60-61-101 case, but lawyer says order to testify "smacks of Big Brother"

Douglas Bruce.​The resolution of the latest case against tax-hater Douglas Bruce has been portrayed by the press as a mixed bag. True, Bruce wasn't held in contempt for not testifying in a lawsuit involving Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101 -- but the judge ordered him to testify about ... More >>

Terry Nichols is going to have to stick with prison gruel

Gruel it is for convicted Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols.​Terry Nichols has lost his drawn-out plea for more wholesome prison fare. Last Thursday, Colorado U.S. District Court Judge Christine Arguello dismissed the convicted Oklahoma City bomber conspirator's claims that he needs a diet of ... More >>

The Rest of Denver

Looking back at the Best of Denver.