OPINION:
The fight to uphold the Constitution of the United States is more important today than ever in our nation’s history. We must do more than celebrate the signing of our governing document on Sept. 17, 1787. We must ensure the protections of our beloved republic are upheld for generations to come.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on MSNBC: “There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy.” Apparently, courses on the Constitution were not available at the schools where Mr. Walz taught in the past.
The First Amendment to the Constitution is crystal clear: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Free speech isn’t limited to things he thinks are not misinformation or hateful.
Do any of us really want the government to determine what is or is not appropriate to say? Remember the federal officials who told us we’d be immune to COVID-19 if we got the vaccination shot? Politicians like Mr. Walz could label anyone who questioned the wisdom of that claim as engaging in “misinformation” at the time. Yet we all later saw many people test positive for COVID-19 after receiving the vaccination. So, who were the real purveyors of “misinformation”? Similar concerns may be raised about the definition of “hate speech” — as Mr. Walz called it on television.
Dr. Ben Carson lectured on courage for Young America’s Foundation last school year on the campus of Roanoke College in Virginia. The mother of one of the co-captains of the women’s swim team mentioned that his lecture inspired her daughter to lead her team in speaking out about a male athlete who wanted to swim as a female on their team. Mr. Walz’s definition of “hate speech” would ban speaking about these legitimate concerns over fairness.
The Biden-Harris administration actually proposed changes to Title IX protections for female athletes to include gender. Women who speak out about athletes born as male competing in female sports would be subject to violation of Title IX.
The original law requires schools receiving federal funding to provide women with equal opportunities as men and provide an environment free from sexual discrimination and harassment. The Biden-Harris administration is changing the definition of sex to mean “gender identity.”
Thankfully, a judge ordered an injunction in a case brought by Young America’s Foundation, Moms for Liberty, Female Athletes United and four Attorneys General. The injunction says that students are exempt from the new regulations on campuses where there is a member of YAF or Female Athletes United or the child of a member of Moms for Liberty. Granting an injunction means that our case is likely to succeed.
Similarly, the rights of Christian and Jewish students are often restricted on college campuses these days. This is another clear violation of the Constitution as spelled out in the First Amendment, as many of these actions prohibit the free exercise of their religious beliefs.
We continue to see college administrators and student government officials attempting to block or limit access to conservative speakers on campus. We have a lawsuit against the University of California at Los Angeles for their efforts to block a speaker our YAF chapter wanted to bring on campus to counter the pro-Hamas rhetoric during the encampments that violated school policy. We will prevail against UCLA and change the policy so that students can hear conservative voices on campus—like we did against the University of California at Berkeley.
Last month, YAF won another legal battle against Clovis Community College that will secure the First Amendment rights for current and future students. Campus administrators had previously ordered the removal of flyers put up by the campus YAF chapter that explained the horrors of Communism.
A federal judge issued a permanent injunction against the entire college district that applies to six different schools in the region. In addition to changing the policy, the system had to pay legal fees, while being held accountable to uphold the Constitutional rights of students.
The fights in California and beyond are far from over. Just this week, the governor of the Golden State, Gavin Newsom, signed legislation into law that prohibits the use of artificial intelligence to create “false images or videos in political ads” before the 2024 election.
Watch for a lawsuit against this new act, as it restricts free speech. Whether we like it or not, speech is protected under the Constitution. A government big enough and powerful enough to try and “protect” us from speech we do not like is big enough and powerful enough to take away our own speech as well. This is exactly what the founders warned against when they signed the Constitution. We must be vigilant in our fidelity to that document.
• Scott Walker is president of Young America’s Foundation and served as the 45th governor of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019.
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