Since 1992, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression has celebrated the birth and ideals of its namesake by calling attention to those who in the past year forgot or disregarded Mr. Jefferson’s admonition that freedom of speech “cannot be limited without being lost.”
Since 1992, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression has celebrated the birth and ideals of its namesake by calling attention to those who in the past year forgot or disregarded Mr. Jefferson’s admonition that freedom of speech “cannot be limited without being lost.”
Announced on or near April 13 — the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson — the Jefferson Muzzles are awarded as a means to draw national attention to abridgments of free speech and press and, at the same time, foster an appreciation for those tenets of the First Amendment. Because the importance and value of free expression extend far beyond the First Amendment’s limit on government censorship, acts of private censorship are not spared consideration for the dubious honor of receiving a Muzzle.
Unfortunately, each year the finalists for the Jefferson Muzzles have emerged from an alarmingly large group of candidates. For each recipient, a dozen could have been substituted. Further, an examination of previous Jefferson Muzzle recipients reveals that the disregard of First Amendment principles is not the byproduct of a particular political outlook but rather that threats to free expression come from all over the political spectrum.
If you know of an act of censorship you believe is deserving of a Jefferson Muzzle, the Center encourages and invites your nomination.
MUZZLE RECIPIENTS
THE 2002 JEFFERSON MUZZLES GO TO …
(individual accounts of the winners follows)
The United States Department of Defense and Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
The New York City Police Department Intelligence Division’s Threat Assessment Unit
Kettle Moraine (Wisconsin) School District
The Coalition of Brown University Student Groups Who Stole 4,000 copies of The Brown Daily Herald
The Administration of Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Dacula (Georgia) High School Principal Donald Nutt
The Kanawha County Board of Education (West Virginia) and Sissonville High School Principal Forest Mann
The Hamilton County (Indiana) Prosecutor’s Office
Hecklers in the Audience at the December 2001 Commencement Ceremony at California State University-Sacramento
Check out there site for full accounts of the winners
Author: Thomas Jefferson Center
News Service: Thomas Jefferson Center through politechbot
Leave a Reply