The bullhorn-powered war of words between satanists and Catholics boiled over into brawling and a handful of arrests Friday during an extraordinary event at the Kansas Capitol that pushed boundaries of free speech and the separation of church and state.
The House approved a resolution that denounces the Satanic Grotto’s plans to hold a black mass at the Statehouse after members debated the balance between respecting First Amendment protections for offensive speech — and their own right to respond.
A planned satanic black mass at the Kansas capitol has spurred policy changes, allegations of theft and religious debates as state leaders scramble to address First Amendment concerns with blocking satanists from their demonstration.
The Kansas Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to legislation that would ban school district employees from using names or pronouns other than a minor student’s corresponding biological sex or birth certificate without parental permission.
A KU instructor who told a class that if men won’t vote for Kamala Harris because she is a woman, “we could line all those guys up and shoot them,” has left the university.
Maya Hodison/Lawrence Times
Criminal trespassing charges have been dismissed for three KU students who were arrested in May while protesting with KU Students for Justice in Palestine.
Maya Hodison/Lawrence Times
The University of Kansas has yet to comment on its authorization to have three student protesters arrested inside an open campus library last week.
Bryndal Hoover / LHS Budget
Journalism students at Lawrence High School have convinced the school district to remove their files from the purview of a controversial artificial intelligence surveillance system after months of debate with administrators.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
A Lawrence man who has clashed with local authorities for more than two years has filed a civil suit alleging that the city commission and public library have violated his freedom of speech and his right to equal protection under the law.
Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody enlisted the support of local and state law enforcement officials in the days before he led raids on the local newspaper office, the publisher’s home and the home of a city councilwoman.
