2010 Jefferson Muzzle Awards

Announced on or near April 13 — the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson — the Jefferson Muzzles are awarded as a means to draw national attention to abridgments of free speech and press and, at the same time, foster an appreciation for those tenets of the First Amendment.

Because the importance and value of free expression extend far beyond the First Amendment’s limit on government censorship, acts of private censorship are not spared consideration for the dubious honor of receiving a Muzzle.

Unfortunately, each year the finalists for the Jefferson Muzzles have emerged from an alarmingly large group of candidates. For each recipient, a dozen could have been substituted. Further, an examination of previous Jefferson Muzzle recipients reveals that the disregard of First Amendment principles is not the byproduct of a particular political outlook but rather that threats to free expression come from all over the political spectrum.

The 2010 “Jefferson Muzzle” awards went to: [via]

1. U.S. Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL)
2. The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
3. Chicago Alderman James A. Balcer
4. The Oklahoma Tax Commission
5. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
6. The Texas State Legislature
7. The West Fargo School Board in North Dakota and Principal S.K. Johnson of Orange High School in California
8. The Administration of Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California
9. The Virginia Department of Corrections
10. The Puerto Rico Department of Education