ACLU Holds Symposium on Free Speech: Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union, American University Washington College of Law and American University Law Review have joined together to host a two-day symposium titled Left Out in the Cold? The Chilling of Speech, Association, and the Press in Post-9/11 America. Topics including government surveillance, reporters' shield legislation and academic freedom will be discussed by members of Congress, First Amendment scholars, and government officials.

"Preserving the Constitution in trying times is both our legacy and obligation as Americans," said James T. Tucker, ACLU First Amendment Policy Counsel. "The First Amendment is a cornerstone of what makes us Americans. Our democracy would be incomplete and inoperable without it. We must do everything thing we can to protect this bedrock principle."

Left Out in the Cold will identify what barriers, if any, exist to promoting speech and government accountability, and will identify possible legislative solutions to remove them. These discussions will reinvigorate the public debate on these important issues through panels featuring government officials, policy makers, nationally known experts, scholars, journalists and other interested parties. Speakers include Congressmen Bobby Scott (D-VA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Mike Pence (R-IN), ACLU President, Nadine Strossen, ACLU Washington Legislative Office Director, Caroline Fredrickson, Duke Law School professor, Erwin Chemerinsky, and Rodney Smolla, Dean of the Washington College of Law.

The symposium will also serve to launch a new ACLU report authored by Tucker. Reclaiming Our Rights: Declaration of First Amendment Rights and Grievances outlines the ways in which Americans' speech has been restricted, particularly since September 11, 2001, and the steps Americans must take to reclaim their rights.

(Read Original Article - Via American Civil Liberties Union.)