Display of Confederate flags faces First Amendment test

Writing in The Hill, June 30, 2015, Alberto R. Gonzales reminds us that the First Amendment protects free speech rights to prevent government censorship. In the wake of the horrendous church shootings in Charleston, South Carolina, many want the Confederate flag removed from public property as a symbol of hate and racism. It is another matter for the government to ban private display of the Confederate flag or the swastica.

A North Charleston police officer who posted a photo of himself in a pair of Confederate flag boxer shorts after the church shootings was fired and will find it difficult to win a challenge of the action on First Amendment grounds. In firing him, the department said the officer’s post undermines public trust.  (c/net, June 27, 2015, by Chris Matyszczyk)

In the meantime, the church shootings prompted a number of retailers including Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Sears to ban the sales of Confederate flags and related merchandise in their stores and on their sites. (c/net, June 23, 2015, by Ben Fox Rubin)