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Chris Millis
Currently, there are no statutes addressing free speech for the University of North Carolina
(UNC) institutions.
House Bill 527, modeled after the Goldwater Institutes policy report Campus Free Speech: A
Legislative Proposal, requires UNCs Board of Governors to develop, adopt, and implement
various policies related to free expression, and to form a Committee on Free Expression
which must make annual reports to the Board of Governors, the General Assembly, and the
governor.
It is critical that we reverse the trend of free speech being impeded on public university
campuses in North Carolina, said Representative Millis. And we must preempt further
violations of those rights by fostering an environment of open thought and expression in the
halls of higher education across North Carolina.
The bill requires that all public universities include a section in their freshman orientation
programs describing free speech principles and supporting school policies, and requires that
our public universities establish a set of penalties for student protesters who interfere with
the free speech rights of others or who disrupt events.
Its not ideological, its about doing the right thing, said Representative Jonathan Jordan,
the bills co-sponsor. Speakers are having their events permanently disrupted or canceled
because certain student groups or individuals disagree with their beliefs.
This legislation also comes on the heels of recent protests aimed at shutting down certain
speakers with whom they do not agree at schools around the country. Violent left-wing
protesters have ended appearances by author Charles Murray at Middlebury College,
conservative agent provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos at University of California-Berkeley, and
author Heather Mac Donald at Claremont McKenna College, to name just a recent few.
Many universities have resorted to simply banning speakers altogether to avoid the risk of
violence from these radical leftist agitators. According to Washington Examiner columnist Lisa
Boothe, The Wall Street Journals Jason Riley was disinvited from speaking at Virginia Tech
because he has written about race issues from a conservative perspective, and Former
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was forced to cancel an invitation by Rutgers University
to deliver that schools commencement address in 2014. The Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education (FIRE), which fights for free speech on college campuses, estimates that there
have been around 338 speakers disinvited since 2000.
Conservative speaker Ann Coulter was forced to cancel her April 27th speaking engagement
at UC Berkeley (ironically, the birthplace of the so-called free speech movement) after
mounting pressure from administrators and threats of violence from activists who promised to
shut her down by any means necessary. Coulters campus sponsors had filed a lawsuit
against the university over its violation of her First Amendment rights.
Apparently, the Berkeley situation was even too much for outspoken liberal potty-mouth Bill
Maher and Senator Bernie Sanders, himself a committed democratic socialist. While
disagreeing with her views, both condemned the students threats of violence and their
attempt to suppress Coulters right to speak. People have a right to give their two cents-
worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation, said Senator Sanders. He
went on to say that the actions of the Berkeley protestors demonstrated intellectual
weakness.
Berkeley, you know, used to be the cradle of free speech, cracked Maher. Now its just the
cradle for [expletive] babies.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also came to Coulters defense, triggering a
number of liberals to denounce the organization.
FIRE issued a statement on the ordeal on April 26, 2017: Public colleges and universities
have a legal duty to protect First Amendment rights. They also have a responsibility to do
their best to protect all those present on campus from threats to their physical safety. But
curtailing the rights of a speaker in the name of safety is wrong unless absolutely necessary,
and canceling a speech must be the very last resort. Otherwise, restricting or silencing a
speaker is simply a capitulation to violence or threats.
Berkeley should be ashamed for creating this hostile atmosphere, said YAF president Ron
Robinson. Berkeley made it impossible to hold a lecture due to the lack of assurances for
protections from foreseeable violence from unrestrained leftist agitators.
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York
Universitys Stern School of Business, commenting on the disturbing campus phenomenon,
said:
In Defense of Free Speech By Rep. Chris Millis
We are witnessing the emergence of a dangerous new norm for responding to speakers who
challenge campus orthodoxy. Anyone offended by the speaker can put out a call on Facebook
to bring together students and locals, including antifa (antifascist) and black-bloc activists
who explicitly endorse the use of violence against racists and fascists. Because of flagrant
concept creep, however, almost anyone who is politically right of center can be labeled a
racist or a fascist, and the promiscuous use of such labels is now part of the standard
operating procedure.
14 House Democrats joined with a unified Republican caucus and voted for House Bill 527,
while 32 Democrats voted against the bill.