Colorado Politics

Legislature fails to quell free speech | Denver Gazette

Colorado’s Jeff Hunt opposes convenience abortions. So does Colorado Christian University, which he worked with for years.

Among Colorado’s far-left legislators, Hunt’s view is a crime against humanity. So much so, they censored his shirt. Today, the shirt stands as a symbol of free speech — the freedom Americans cherish most.

In March of last year, the legislature — which had passed a bill allowing “postnatal” abortions — proposed and passed a bill to outlaw “deceptive trade practices” by “crisis pregnancy centers” that support women with unexpected pregnancies. The law itself rests on shaky legal ground regarding free speech.

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Visiting the Senate’s public gallery in opposition to the bill, Hunt wore a shirt that said “Pro-Life U” — a label the university embraces. Despite the shirt’s modest and non-confrontational message, Hunt was swiftly removed by the Senate’s sergeant at arms.

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Americans take seriously the First Amendment — the law that says freedom of speech shall not be infringed. That’s why authorities allow anti-American, pro-Hamas activists to call for the genocide of Jews and the overthrow of America — the country that allows them to protest.

Free speech is so revered that presidents of our once-respected Ivy League schools recently refused to condemn advocates of another Jewish genocide.

All rights have limits, but freedom of speech has few. Despite a disproven canard, we may yell “fire” in a crowded theater — as established in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brandenburg v. Ohio ruling.

“Advocacy of genocide is sometimes protected under the First Amendment and sometimes not,” said UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh, as quoted by ABC News, summarizing centuries of nuanced legal rulings.

Freedom of speech stops parents’ groups from removing racist and sexually explicit books from elementary school libraries.

Even the all-powerful IRS cannot control speech. Congress passed the Johnson Amendment in 1954 to prohibit non-profits from “directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”

The Johnson Amendment is neither obeyed nor enforced. The Alliance Defending Freedom since 2008 has encouraged preachers to give political sermons in flagrant defiance of the Johnson law. Thousands participate annually, but The Washington Post found none has been punished.

Two centuries of court precedent uphold the First Amendment, making exceptions only on the most extreme margins. Yet, legislative leaders apparently consider abortion so sacred that it trumps free speech.

Senate staff defended Hunt’s ouster, citing a rule that restrains “expression of support or opposition on matters the Senate is debating.” Yet not long before Hunt’s ejection, the Senate allowed activists to wear shirts advocating gun control — which the legislature debates all the time. That makes Hunt’s ejection a case of prima facie content-based discrimination.

Hunt threatened a lawsuit.

“The rule banning pins and apparel ‘expressing political statements’ from the Colorado Senate and House Galleries is an ongoing violation of the First Amendment,” explains a letter threatening a lawsuit, penned by attorneys with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The letter cited unassailable case law supporting Hunt’s grievance.

It is hard to fathom how this rule was made, much less enforced. As reported by Westword, the House and Senate recently rescinded the rule in response to Hunt’s letter.

Free speech is nearly absolute — especially regarding political matters on government property. Political sanctimony creates no exception to this guarantee, on either side of the political divide. Individuals must uphold their civil rights, as Hunt did, or lose them to extremists.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board

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