Journalism Is Not a Crime, Even When It Offends the Government
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been imprisoned in London for five years, while Texas journalist Priscilla Villarreal was only briefly detained at the...
About: Jacob Sullum
Posts by Jacob Sullum
Trump’s Abortion Stance Is Convenient, But That Does Not Mean He’s Wrong
“On abortion,” The New York Times claims, former President Donald Trump “chose politics over principles.” In reality, Trump’s recent clarification of his abortion...
The Supreme Court Should Reject Clandestine Government Censorship of Online Speech
When federal officials persistently pressured social media platforms to delete or downgrade posts those officials did not like, a government lawyer told the...
Expanding the Drug War to Include Tobacco Would Be a Big Mistake
Last month, New Zealand scrapped a law that would have gradually prohibited tobacco products by banning sales to anyone born after 2008. But...
Based on Loose Reasoning, a Federal Judge Upholds the Gun-Free School Zones Act
A federal law prohibits gun possession within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school. That restriction, a federal judge in Montana noted...
California Made Carry Permits Easier to Obtain but Nearly Impossible to Use
California Gov. Gavin Newsom thinks the Constitution should be amended to accommodate the gun regulations he favors. But in the meantime, he is...
Former NIH Director Says Ignoring ‘Collateral Damage’ Inflicted by COVID-19 Policies Was ‘Really Unfortunate’
As federal officials considered how the government should respond to an emerging pandemic in 2020, Francis Collins recalled last year, “we weren’t really...
Hunter Biden’s Multiplying Charges Exemplify a Profound Threat to Trial by Jury
Under a plea deal that fell apart last July, Hunter Biden would have spent no time behind bars after admitting to illegally buying...
Laws Requiring Permission to Obtain Guns Look Vulnerable
According to a landmark 2022 Supreme Court decision, the Second Amendment constrains the requirements that states may impose on residents who want to...
Trump Gag Order Raises Unsettled Constitutional Questions
“I’ll be the only politician in history” who “won’t be allowed to criticize people,” former President Donald Trump complained last month. He was...
The Supreme Court Should Not Let Bureaucrats Invent Crimes by Rewriting the Law
On Dec. 26, 2018, every American who owned a bump stock, a rifle accessory that facilitates rapid firing, was suddenly guilty of a...
Don’t Blame the Maine Shootings on ‘Woefully Weak’ Gun Laws
Five months before an Army Reserve sergeant killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, his relatives told...
The Bipartisan Urge to Control Online Speech
According to the Biden administration, federal officials who urged social media companies to suppress “misinformation” about COVID-19 and other subjects were merely asking...
A Blatantly Unconstitutional Gun Edict Highlights the Hazards of Emergency Powers: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham Thinks Violent Crime Gives Her a License to Rule by Decree
Grisham's stunt was widely condemned as blatantly unconstitutional, even by some leading supporters of gun control. ...
A Ruling Against a Man Arrested for a COVID-19 Joke Highlights the Influence of a Pernicious Analogy
Back in March 2020, a dozen or so sheriff’s deputies wearing bulletproof vests descended upon Waylon Bailey’s home in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, with...