Constitutional Law

Mass. curriculum can exclude questioners of Armenian genocide

By By The Associated Press

BOSTON ? A federal appeals court has ruled that Massachusetts public school guidelines for teaching history can exclude viewpoints that dispute the mass slaying of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the early part of the 20th century.

The Aug. 11 decision by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state did not violate free-speech rights in 1999 by excluding sources that questioned the Armenian genocide.

Some say the slaying of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians wasn't genocide, but was driven by other factors, including World War I.

Pace University law professor Van Krikorian, who filed a brief defending the state, called the decision "a major defeat for genocide denial."

Harvey Silverglate, who represents Turkish-American interests, told The Boston Globe the ruling was "a sad day" for First Amendment rights.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on August 12, 2010 (boomark / email).