Texas Governor Signs Law Protecting Free Speech on College Campuses (school, biased)

[Spartacus713]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a new state law protecting free speech of students and student groups on college campuses. This law allows students to assemble in public areas and pass out written material without a permit or permission. It also implements penalties against those who "unduly interfere with the expressive activities of others on campus."

The law also protects student organizations from being denied student services or discriminated against based on their organization's viewpoint.

Texas Governor Signs Law Protecting Free Speech on College Campuses

Governor of Texas Greg Abbott tweeted a video of himself on Sunday signing a law protecting free speech on college campuses. In the video, Abbott says that “some colleges are banning free speech on college campuses. Well, no more. Because I am about to sign a law that protects free speech on college campuses in Texas.”

SB 18, the bill Abbott signed, establishes that “common outdoor areas” of a university are to be considered as public forms. It allows students “to assemble or distribute written material without a permit or other permission” from the university, and institutes penalties for students, student organizations, or faculty who “unduly interfere with the expressive activities of others on campus.”

The bill also protects student organizations from being denied university services based on the organization’s viewpoint. The bill still allows universities to impose restrictions on the time, place and manner of demonstrations as long as the restrictions are published and neutral to whatever viewpoint espoused.

This seems like as pure of a no-brainer as any of us are ever likely to see. Free speech and the unimpeded exchange and distribution of ideas and information at a "University".

What kind of a person or group of people would be opposed to such a thing? The Russian communists were. The German Nazis were. The Chinese Marxists were. And now we have people in our own country who are. We all know who we are talking about here.

These are people with strong totalitarian insticts, who do not believe in freedom, liberty or unbiased concepts of justice under the law. Rather, they believe in themselves and their elite group as the rulers of everyone else, whether everyone else likes it or not.

To make this work, they KNOW they cannot succeed as long as information and ideas are freely exchanged and as long as people are free to associate and politically organize in ways that are in opposition to them. So freedom of speech must be stopped in the view of these incredibly selfish and evil people.

Texas is doing something very admirable here in passing this law. In fact, every other state should pass a similar law. Even if the "Politically correct" Democrat left is effectively neutered of its capacity to bully and terrorize people that they disagree with on campus in the process. Agreed?

[PedroMartinez]

I think all states should, but it's up to them.

[MJJersey]

Every state should have this

[StillwaterTownie]

Oklahoma recently passed a similar bill. No more free speech zones on Oklahoma college campuses. Oklahoma State University's free speech zone was on the south side of the library, the only place where holding signs was okay. But critics see it as unnecessary or legislative overkill as in the viewpoint of this letter writer: https://www.stwnewspress.com/opinion...f9fd9135c.html

Gov. Stitt signs free speech bill: https://oklahoman.com/article/563017...ee-speech-bill
Campus administrators, however, will be able to set reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on free speech activities. The Texas law says something similar.

[Spartacus713]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

The Oklahoma Senate recently passed a similar bill. I don't know if it went on to become state law. But critics see it as unnecessary or legislative overkill as in the viewpoint of this letter writer: https://www.stwnewspress.com/opinion...f9fd9135c.html

Is the author of that article supportive of free speech for ALL perspectives and viewpoints on campus? If so, then he should be supportive of this law.

The only reason that one can imagine anyone opposing a law like this is if they know that their intolerant and tyrannical agenda will be interfered with and blocked by a law like this.

[Spartacus713]

Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) has applauded Texas free speech law and also blasts 'coddled students'.

Crenshaw applauds Texas free speech law, blasts 'coddled' students

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, praised Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for signing a campus free speech law banning so-called free speech zones that allow only certain viewpoints to be expressed on college campuses across the state.

“The First Amendment is under constant attack by those who shut down ideas they can’t contend with,” Crenshaw said Monday. “The University is a place for students to grapple with new ideas and opinions, not be coddled.”

The law requires state schools in Texas to use more content-neutral standards when deciding who can come to campus to speak or which student organizations can use official campus resources.

Right on, Dan.