New Mexico Legislators Petition to Silence Matt Walsh and Other Conservatives
“certain speech may have a negative impact on some members of our community”
We have gotten to the point where government officials are trying to take free speech away from private citizens.
The College Fix reports:
New Mexico legislators petition to prevent Matt Walsh, other conservatives from speaking
A group of New Mexico legislators was none too pleased that conservative pundit Matt Walsh spoke at New Mexico State University this past April.
In a letter to NMSU Interim President Jay Gouge and the Board of Regents, State Senator Carrie Hamblen and eight officials from various levels of government say that while “there is no disagreement to the right of free speech and to hear diverse points of view,” Walsh’s presence and words made LGBTQ people unsafe.
The legislators claim that the 560 “anti-trans” laws introduced in state legislatures since the beginning of the year “attack the safety and mere existence of trans individuals,” and they cite statistics from the Trevor Project (which The New Guard notes “hosts predator-ridden chat rooms for young children and previously employed the Biden Administration’s notorious luggage thief animal fetishist“) noting that LGBTQ people “consider suicide every 45 seconds.”
The letter also charges that Walsh (pictured) “encourages violence,” “minimizes accusations against known pedophiles and child abusers” and “spouts pro-slavery rhetoric.”
Hamblen (pictured) et. al. say they are “confused” because the university supports “free speech and peaceful assembly” … but at the same time acknowledges “certain speech may have a negative impact on some members of our community.”
This is an admission, they say, that “harm” from “violent speech” will be “inflicted upon a particular group.”
The lawmakers believe a “modification” to the state’s Human Rights Act this year — which “provides a pathway for […] queer individuals to seek justice for discrimination” — means NMSU had a “responsibility to shield” LGBTQ students from the Walsh event.
A group of New Mexico elected officials wrote a letter complaining about a speech I gave at New Mexico State University this past spring. They defamed me, accused me of threatening the safety of the students at the school, and demanded that I be banned from all future speeches.…
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 6, 2023
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Comments
We are for free speech that we like, but not for free speech we don’t like. How Orwellian.
Back to the past…..1984….the book,not the year…
Just starting that “petition”, as an actual legislator should subject you to immediate impeachment and suit under “deprivation of civil rights under color of authority.” Period.
C’mon people, start the lawsuits and the demand for impeachment (or casting out of the legislature).
Never happen. New Mexico citizens actively vote for these clowns with alacrity.
This last session, there was a bill in NM with legs making it illegal to possess a magazine over ten rounds capacity. A group of us in Arizona who vacation, hunt, or merely travel through NM on I-10/I-40 regularly wrote the facilities we frequented in the state and let them know that if this bill passed, we would be forced to route our activities elsewhere. The bill failed.
You seem to have a great deal of faith in courts—long ago captured largely by leftists. Perhaps your faith in what might be achieved via lawsuits is misplaced.
1. Legislators can’t be impeached.
2. Legislators can’t be sued for anything they do in their capacity as legislators.
3. Introducing legislation doesn’t deprive anyone of anything.
This state senator from Las Cruces might want to reacquaint herself with Article II, §17, Clause 1 of the New Mexico State Constitution:
Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press….
She might also want to ponder Article XX, §1 of the New Mexico State Constitution:
Every person elected or appointed to any office shall, before entering upon his duties, take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation that he will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution and laws of this state, and that he will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of his office to the best of his ability.
She might also want to consider whether § 30-11-1(F) would shield a legislator outside of a legislative session from a Libel charge.
The federal equivalent certainly does.
30-11-1(F) says that no statement made in the course of a legislative or judicial proceeding comes within the definition of libel. The state legislature is not in session. Therefore, the senator’s statements against Mr. Walsh were not made in the course of a legislative proceeding and not sheltered from the meaning of libel, which is a misdemeanor under New Mexico law.