Republican Lawmakers in California Target Free Speech Zones
“pushing back against what they see as a climate of restricted free speech”
Something similar happened recently in Wisconsin. Hopefully this is the beginning of a trend.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
Frustrated with campus discourse limits, California Republicans take on ‘free speech zones’
In the realm of political odd couples, state Sen. Jim Nielsen of Gerber and aspiring public interest lawyer Nicolas Tomas may be among the oddest. Tomas, a 26-year-old Democrat, is a promoter of the vegan lifestyle. Nielsen, a 72-year-old Republican, is a cattleman and dairyman by trade.
The unlikely duo found common cause in pushing back against what they see as a climate of restricted free speech on college campuses. Two years ago, Tomas sued Cal Poly Pomona for preventing him from distributing pro-vegan leaflets outside of the “free speech zone”— a 144-square-foot area designated for such activities. Now, Nielsen is carrying a bill to dismantle the use of these zones on public campuses.
The growing number of lawsuits aimed at knocking down speech limits on campus — along with recent high-profile cancellations of controversial speakers such as Ann Coulter at UC Berkeley because of safety concerns — has sparked a raucous public debate over how the 1st Amendment is practiced at colleges and universities.
And California legislators, particularly Republicans, have responded with proposals to hem in the ability of schools to regulate where and how students share their views.
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