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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

ACLU of Nevada: Cattle Battle Is First Amendment Victory

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Tuesday, April 15, 2014   

BUNKERVILLE, Nev. - The ACLU Of Nevada is claiming a First Amendment victory in the cattle battle near Bunkerville, which has captured national media attention. Tod Story, ACLU executive director, said the free speech win resulted from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) removing so-called "free speech zones," as armed protesters gathered in support of rancher Cliven Bundy.

Story warned that the government-designated areas for protesters to gather probably violated the First Amendment.

"They're supposed to be in the proximity of the 'time, place and manner.' It's a question that the courts have entertained and continue to review," Story said.

The First Amendment ensures peaceful assembly in reasonable physical proximity to the subject being protested or supported, he explained, adding that there are multiple reports that the BLM's free speech zones were located an unreasonable distance away from the cattle roundup.

Citing public safety concerns, the BLM stopped its cattle roundup over the weekend and returned several hundred confiscated animals to Bundy. The government seized the cattle, claiming Bundy owes about $1 million in unpaid fees for allowing his animals to illegally graze on public lands over the past 20 years.

Story noted there were several points of view, and said they all have the right to be expressed.

"They have the same rights, regardless of what it is that they're saying, or what their perspective or viewpoints might be," Story stressed. "They all have the same rights to express their point of view under the First Amendment."

There are reports that Bundy is willing to pay the grazing fees to the state, but not to the federal government. The rancher claims his ancestors settled the lands where his cattle now graze, long before the Bureau of Land Management existed.




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