I don’t think I need to explain why freedom of speech has been at the forefront of my mind over the last couple of weeks, but I have noticed that there’s been a lot of confusion in the media about censorship and who is actually allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights. In case there’s any confusion, here are a handful of recent news items about what First Amendment violations (by the government, no less!) actually look like.

• Author and former Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal talks about how she lost a speaking gig at the US Air Force Academy because of critical comments she made about Trump on social media. “I had the right to say what I liked on social media; the academy had the right to determine whether I spoke on its campus…[but] professional writers reading this will take my cancellation as a warning to watch what they say on Facebook or X, and may fall silent accordingly.”
• Donald Trump recently invited a twelve-year-old boy to speak at a Religious Liberty Commission event about how he was “forced” to read aloud from a picture book, “promoting a message of radical gender ideology that is contrary to his religious beliefs and ours.” The book in question was My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart, and the author has responded, saying that Trump was using his book and the twelve-year-old boy as political pawns. “‘The irony here is that they want acceptance for their beliefs, but not to extend that acceptance onto others.'”
• While we celebrate recent legal and legislative wins for IMLS, it’s also important to remember that the Trump administration is using IMLS as a propaganda tool, and their Freedom Trucks project is historical erasure masked as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
• Related: “The White House plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with President Trump’s interpretation of American history.” To quote 1984, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
• A Texas A&M professor has been fired over comments made about gender identity content in her children’s lit class. From the article: “The announcement came after a video circulated online Monday showing a student confronting a professor over content related to gender identity in the class, sparking backlash from Republican lawmakers and calls for investigations, a response from the U.S. Department of Justice, and a statement from the Texas A&M System chancellor pledging to discipline the professor.”
• 12 Phoenix-area libraries have quietly removed more than 50 books about sex ed and puberty from their children’s sections after complaints from conservative Christians. These changes also notably come after three new Republicans were elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. However, these changes only affect libraries operated by Maricopa County, not city-operated libraries such as the Phoenix Public Library system.