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The NAACP Leads the Charge Against Free Speech
Last year, a pro-life blogger posted an essay at LifeNews with the title “NAACP: National Association for the Abortion of Colored People.” The author, Ryan Bomberger (an African-American) took the NAACP to task for its cozy relationship with Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups:
They’ll beat the drums of economic, social and environmental “justice” while over 360,000 black babies, annually, never get a chance at one of the few Constitutional rights that actually exist—the right to Life. . . .At a time when 72.3% of black children are born into homes without fathers and (in some places like Philadelphia) 50% of viable black pregnancies end in abortion one would think protecting future generations would become a national emergency for this historic organization.
How did the NAACP respond? They sued Bomberger’s organization, the Radiance Foundation, for trademark infringement because the essay’s title took the NAACP’s name in vain. The title, of course, was good old-fashioned parody, akin to calling the ACLU the “Anti-Christian Lawyers Union.”
Parody has long been held to be protected speech, but the NAACP — unable to debate Bomberger on the merits — went after him and Radiance regardless. In June, federal judge Raymond Jackson ruled against Radiance, finding that the post infringed the NAACP’s trademark and brushing aside Radiance’s First Amendment claim. The case is now on appeal to the Fourth Circuit, as reported by Eugene Volokh (who supervised a student amicus brief in the case).
Let’s hope the Fourth Circuit overturns the shameful district court opinion. If not, perhaps the GOP can sue the Daily Kos for referring to it as “Greedy Old Plutocrats.”
Image Credit: “Naacplogo” by http://blogs.trb.com/features/family/parenting/blog/BlueManGroup.jpg. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.
Published in General
Really?
What do we know about this federal judge? I get the sense that, to an ever greater degree, partisanship is shaping judicial decisions. With regard to the First Amendment, this one is a no-brainer. The suit reminds me of Michael Mann’s attack on Mark Steyn.
Colored people? They should sue themselves for engaging in hate speech.
He’s a Clinton appointee. Don’t know much else at this point.
Is this the same Raymond Alvin Jackson who’s sister-in-law Elaine R. Jones directs the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund?
Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.
That’s the judge’s name. I didn’t know that about his sister-in-law … I wonder if there was a motion for recusal. However, a sister-in-law’s affiliation might well be too remote to constitute a technical conflict.
By affixing the logo of the NAACP to this post, it is likely that you have confused people. People will believe that this post is affiliated with the NAACP. Has the NAACP become a sponsor of Ricochet? Has it approved this post?
Well let me just say that the ACLU hates Nativity scenes because they don’t have three wise men or a virgin in their entire organization. So sue me.
Planned Parenthood kills more black people in a week than all the police officers across the country have in their entire combined careers.