Image 01 Image 03

Kansas Bill Honoring Charlie Kirk Seeks to Protect Free Speech on College Campuses

Kansas Bill Honoring Charlie Kirk Seeks to Protect Free Speech on College Campuses

“The FORUM Act”

This is Charlie Kirk’s legacy. Anything that promotes free speech on campus is an honor to his memory.

The Kansas Reflector reports:

Kansas House bill honoring Charlie Kirk seeks to liberate campus voices, but it’s complicated

A bill introduced in the Kansas House this week, one that its Republican sponsor hopes will embolden free speech in honor of Charlie Kirk, might indeed prevent censorship and nudge student voices, as he intends.

However, it might also frustrate many Kansans (including fellow Republicans) who won’t enjoy the unfettered expression — from students and faculty, on campus and online — that this bill protects. We can nitpick other likely consequences of the bill after we cover the basics.

Rep. Brett Fairchild, R-St. John, introduced a bill Tuesday that would, generally speaking, enlarge the free speech rights of people on Kansas university and postsecondary education campuses. The bill’s acronym? The FORUM Act, for “forming open and robust university minds.”

In the other chamber, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, announced this week that additional legislation “is being drafted to safeguard free speech for students across Kansas education, from K-12 to public colleges.”

Fairchild and Masterson paid homage to Kirk, a slain conservative activist and free speech advocate who was shot and killed in September while speaking at a Utah college campus.

“Charlie Kirk was martyred for bringing truth and wisdom to college campuses, where the free exchange of ideas must remain central to their mission. He built a legacy of respectful yet passionate discourse and warned of the dangers when we stop talking to one another,” a statement from Masterson said, calling the bill a “top priority.”

Fairchild called Kirk “a great champion of free speech on college campuses.”

While Kirk’s views on many issues struck me as wrongheaded and offensive, his advocacy for free speech was different. The open debates he created, particularly for college students, pivoted campus norms about free speech.

DONATE

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.

Comments


 
 0 
 
 0
destroycommunism | January 25, 2026 at 4:13 pm

so instead of defunding communism

gop continues to pose …oh look at the bill Im passing to insure the free speech that really is already there but we dont want to do anything to protect it so now we do this after the man has been murdered by lefty

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.