First Amendment — Free Speech in Virginia

You Have the Right to Speak. Until You Do.

Defending the Foundation | Article 2 of 8
By Jeff Bayard | Virginia Christian Alliance

What the Free Speech Law Actually Says in Virginia

Most Americans have never read the First Amendment free speech in Virginia protections that apply to them. They know the amendment exists. They just don’t know what it says. And even fewer know that Virginia adds a second layer of protection on top of it.

Here is the federal text:

Now read what Virginia added — written in 1776, before the federal Bill of Rights even existed:

Notice the difference. The federal amendment restrains government: Congress shall not. Virginia goes further. It names the enemy plainly. Only despotic governments restrain free speech. And it gives every citizen the affirmative right to freely speak, write, and publish.

For Virginians, the Virginia Constitution is the first line of defense. The U.S. Constitution is the second. Virginia wrote the prototype. Virginia’s standard is higher. And we hold Richmond to what Richmond itself adopted.

That is double-layered protection. It was meant to be ironclad.

What the Founders Actually Meant

The Founders called free speech a “great bulwark of liberty” for a reason. A bulwark is a defensive wall — the last line between the citizen and tyranny. Without it, every other right collapses. You cannot defend your religious liberty if you cannot speak. You cannot hold government accountable if dissent is silenced.

James Madison drafted both the First Amendment and championed Virginia’s Declaration of Rights. He knew that conscience is only free when it can be spoken aloud. A government that controls what you say controls what you think.

Justice Robert Jackson made this permanent in 1943. Writing for the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. Barnette, he declared:

That is a warning to every school board, every university administrator, and every legislator in Virginia.

The right is not the freedom to speak when it is convenient. It is the freedom to speak when it is costly.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” — Romans 1:16 (ESV)

Paul wrote those words knowing they could cost him everything. They did. The Founders built that conviction into the Constitution. Virginia wrote it into its own Declaration of Rights. And yet today in Virginia, speaking the truth can cost you your career, your platform, and your place in the public square.

What Is Happening in Virginia Right Now

Consider what happened in Loudoun County in October 2024.

Parents showed up to a school board meeting to raise safety concerns about a student with documented gang ties who had been re-enrolled at their children’s school. The school board chair shut down public comment. Their speech was silenced — not because it was threatening, but because the board did not like what they were saying.

Read that again.

In January 2025, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief calling it exactly what it was — viewpoint discrimination. In his official statement announcing the filing, he wrote: “The remedy for speech the government dislikes is more speech, not enforced silence.”

That case is before the Fourth Circuit right now.

Parents in Virginia are being silenced at their own school board meetings.

Then there is Peter Vlaming. In Article 1 of this series, we showed how his firing violated his religious liberty. But his case was also a free speech case. Justice Kelsey of the Virginia Supreme Court was explicit. The school board violated “his right of free expression under Article I, Section 12 of the Constitution of Virginia.” In 2024, the West Point School Board paid him $575,000 in damages. A teacher lost his career. The state lost in court. The compelled speech pattern continues.

Virginia also passed SB 854 in 2025 — a law rationing how long citizens could speak online. It required platforms to limit minors to one hour per day of social media use. On February 27, 2026, a federal judge struck it down. The court found it burdened far more speech than necessary — including the speech of adults. Virginia is appealing. The fight is not over.

And in October 2025, a sitting Albemarle County school board member publicly compared a Turning Point USA student speaker to the Ku Klux Klan. She declared the speech “not a matter of free speech” but “hate speech with no place in our schools.”

Here is what UVA told the Governor of Virginia in its own official 2025 report to the General Assembly:

A school board member declared conservative speech hate speech. Virginia’s flagship university told Richmond there is no such exception. Both cannot be true.

Dear Christian, this is happening in your state. Right now.

Why This Should Alarm You

When a school board shuts down parents who disagree, free speech has become government-approved speech. You may speak — as long as officials like what you say.

When a teacher loses his career for refusing to speak words that violate his conscience, the state has crossed into compelled speech. The First Amendment does not protect only comfortable speech. It protects speech that costs something.

This is no longer theoretical. This is what is happening in Virginia right now.

The Supreme Court has been clear — repeatedly. Three landmark cases unpack the full constitutional picture. We cover all three in the deep dive: Barnette on compelled orthodoxy, Rosenberger v. University of Virginia on viewpoint discrimination at public universities, and 303 Creative v. Elenis on compelled expressive speech. Virginia is in tension with all three.

The Stakes for November

Virginia voters face real choices in November. The officials who run these school boards, pass these laws, and appoint these administrators answer to you. Free speech does not defend itself. It requires citizens who understand what it is, why it matters, and what it costs to lose it.

The Founders gave us two layers of protection for a reason. They knew the appetite for control does not stop on its own. Both layers are under pressure today.

Proverbs 31:8 commands: “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.” That is not optional for the Christian citizen. It is a calling.

You were given this right. Not by government — by your Creator. Government did not grant it. Government cannot legitimately take it away.

We welcome thoughtful and respectful dialogue from all viewpoints. Comments must remain civil, relevant, and free of profanity, personal attacks, or mockery of Christian faith. Disagreement is allowed — disrespect is not.