I know I’m a day late getting to this story, but it’s still worth flagging. FIRE — the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education — is taking on speech codes at four universities. Speech codes are those draconian, arbitrary means of squelching debate and policing thoughts that leftists have imposed on university campuses across the country. They will impose them off campuses if they’re ever given enough power. It’s a totalitarian move made allegedly in the name of tolerance, but mostly in the name of people wanting and gaining power over other people.
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014—This morning, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) coordinated the filing of lawsuits against Ohio University, Chicago State University, Iowa State University, and Citrus College (Calif.). The filings launch FIRE’s new Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, a national effort to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes through targeted First Amendment lawsuits. The project and lawsuits were announced today at a press conference at the National Press Club.
FIRE has retained preeminent First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere of the national law firm Davis Wright Tremaine as counsel for students and faculty members participating in the Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project.
“Unconstitutional campus speech codes have been a national scandal for decades. But today, 25 years after the first of the modern generation of speech codes was defeated in court, 58% of public campuses still hold onto shockingly illiberal codes,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff. “For 15 years, FIRE has fought for free speech on campus using public awareness as our main weapon, but more is needed. Today, we announce the launch of the Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, an expansive new campaign to eliminate speech codes nationwide. We have already coordinated two lawsuits in the past nine months, and this morning we brought four more. The lawsuits will continue until campuses understand that time is finally up for unconstitutional speech codes in academia.”
Read the rest at FIRE’s site. They say they won’t stop until speech codes are eradicated from all US college campuses. Anyone who has a problem with FIRE over these lawsuits has a problem with freedom.
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