Last year Washington County libraries were asked to take down LGBTQIA displays for Pride Month, replacing them this year with exhibits featuring the more generic “Diversity” theme. But when the librarians felt like they should do more to represent Pride,…
Category: Legal
Decree 349 – Cuba’s New Legislation to Silence Artists
Starting in December, the Cuban Government hopes to have pre-approval overall Cuban arts and literature, according to the dystopian sounding Decree 349. The legislation was introduced in July in the official Cuban state paper, Gaceta de Cuba, and has spawned…
Chilean Journalist Faces 3 Years in Prison for Recounting a Crime Committed by a Convicted Criminal
The first hearing for a Chilean journalist charged with defamation is scheduled for this week, and the results could have a chilling effect on freedom of the press in the country. Javier Ignacio Rebolledo Escobar, faces three years in prison…
Google Reverses Position on Free Expression
Disturbing news came out of the tech sector last week when a whistleblower released documents showing that Google is trying to re-enter the Chinese market with a search engine that conforms to the draconian censorship laws China’s internet is bound…
Image Comics Creators Fight Censorship!
Image teams with Comic Book Legal Defense Fund for powerful anti-censorship variants this September This September, Image Comics fights censorship with a powerful line of variant covers to benefit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), the industry’s voice for free…
Survey Shows First Amendment is a Mystery to Many
Freedom Forum Institute released the results from their annual State of the First Amendment survey, and 40% of participants could not name even one of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Out of the…
CBLDF Podcast Episode 28: Ronald Wimberly
In this episode, we speak with cartoonist/writer/editor/designer RONALD WIMBERLY about his career and current work, including the new magazine LAAB, his webcomic/essay LIGHTEN UP, and his upcoming book SUNSET PARK. We discuss his inspirations, his thoughts on politics, art, and…
Malaysian Cartoonist Zunar Finally Free From Sedition Charges
Malaysian cartoonist Zunar has finally been acquitted of the sedition charges leveled at him in 2015 by Malaysia’s previous ruling party. The nine charges stemmed, not from his political cartoons, but for his tweets about the corruption of the government,…
AARGH!: Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia
It started, as too many things do, with a children’s book that some people found offensive, and ended with a piece of legislation called Clause 28 that made it illegal to “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the…
Teaching Comics and Censorship: The National Archives and the 1954 Senate Subcommittee Hearings
“If the mothers of our beloved country would unite to have these pernicious comic books banned I am sure it would be a great step forward in the control of the young, especially the young boys.” – Eugenia Y Genovar, Letter…