Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday signed legislation that aims at protecting free speech on college campuses.

Senate Bill 62 addresses “free speech zones” on campuses, where people are confined to an area of campus to express political and other views.

The bipartisan bill’s sponsors, Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, and Reps. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, and Stephen Humphrey, R-Eaton, had a little fun ahead of the bill signing, confining themselves to a mock free speech zone behind a red rope attached to a gold post.

“Once we limit free speech to a zone, we indicate to our students that free speech does not exist anywhere beyond that zone,” Neville said. “That is not the message we want to send to future generations about our core values.”

The legislation prohibits public colleges and universities from limiting or restricting student expression in a student forum. This includes verbal or written communications, extending to protests and petitions. Students would be free of having to worry about disciplinary action for expressing themselves.

There are protections in the bill for previously scheduled activities on campus. Demonstrations could not conflict with those activities.

Students that are denied access to a student forum for expressive purposes would be allowed to file a lawsuit against the university.

The legislation was one of the more popular bills this year, passing the Senate by a vote of 32-2. It passed the House unanimously.

One of the ideas behind the bill is to expose students to ideas that they may not be familiar with. By moving demonstrations out of free speech zones, a wider audience can hear the message.

The measure comes at a time when political unrest has hit a tipping point in America. Students often find themselves at the center of activism efforts.

“The signing of this bipartisan bill is proof positive that though we may disagree on some issues, we all place the highest premium on  strengthening our constitutionally guaranteed rights,” Neville said.