The group said the Arizona law violates rights protected by the First Amendment
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit contesting a recently passed law in Arizona which bars citizens from filming police from a close distance, insisting the right to record officers is guaranteed by the US Constitution.
The rights group filed suit earlier this week, seeking to overturn legislation passed in July on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment.
“The constitutional right to record police engaged in official duties is one of the public’s most effective accountability tools against police wrongdoing,” the ACLU said in a statement, adding that the bill will “directly suppress free speech rights, while also limiting public accountability and effective protest of government actions.”
Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed the bill into law last month and it is currently set to take effect in September. Once in force, it will prohibit the filming of officers from a distance of less than eight feet, though makes some exceptions for people in vehicles during traffic stops, as well as individuals speaking to police in enclosed spaces on their own property.
According to New York University’s First Amendment Watch project, more than half of the US population lives in states where courts have recognized the right to film the police, many considering it a constitutionally protected activity. Arizona is among those states, potentially handing the ACLU additional ammunition in its latest case.
Before the Arizona bill was passed, the National Press Photographers Association and 23 other civil liberties and journalistic organizations penned an open letter condemning the legislation, also citing potential First Amendment violations.
RT (Russia Today) is a state-owned news organization funded by the Russian government. The information provided by this news source is being included by the Libertarian Hub not as an endorsement of the Russian government, but rather because it is being actively censored by Big Tech, Western governments and the corporate press. During times of conflict it is imperative that we have access to both sides of the story so we can form our own opinions, even if both sides are spewing their own propaganda. The censorship of RT, despite likely being a propaganda outfit for the Russian government, reduces our ability to hear one side of the conflict. For that reason, the Libertarian Hub will temporarily republish the RSS feed from RT. Visit https://rt.com
