Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Wisconsin Assembly approves legislation requiring discipline for disruptive UW protests
The state Assembly approved a Republican-backed bill late Wednesday night that aims to prevent disruptive protests on college campuses by requiring the University of Wisconsin System to suspend and expel students who repeatedly interrupt speakers.
The bill’s supporters described it as a step to protect free speech by ensuring potentially controversial speakers, often conservatives, can present their ideas on UW campuses without being shouted down.
Democrats and several UW faculty members derided the proposal as a politicized solution in search of a problem, saying no one has faced violent protests or been denied the right to speak at Wisconsin’s public universities.
The bill passed on a 61-36 vote after more than three hours of debate, with Rep. Bob Gannon, R-West Bend, the only Republican to vote against the proposal. All Democrats voted against it.
Debate over the legislation has reflected both long-standing conservative claims of liberal bias on university campuses and a growing sense on the right that left-leaning college students, faculty and administrators have become more hostile to differing opinions.
“It is imperative that our institutions of higher education remain a free marketplace of ideas, as intended,” said Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, a lead author of the legislation. “Sadly we are at a crossroads. … UW’s base policies are not working.”
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4 comments:
Perhaps like SJW and SNOWFLAKES who try to shout down all conservative speakers make them pay the price and pay the piper his due
The use of a law to deny one person the right to object, criticise, complain or protest is an attack on the free speech of all.
The law that would suppress your speech will just as readily suppress mine.
This sounds like a bad law to me.
What is wrong with a law the protects the right of free speech by denying those that oppose free speech, those that are unwilling to allow others to peak feely? The rights to free speech belong to all and those that seek to suppress free speech are in violation of the law. That means that protestors the suppress the rights of others to speak freely which is their right are in defiance of the law. That does not sanction those that intrude in closed or private venues to impose their speech on those present. That would be considered to be an offence against the law and as such all offenders should be dealt with by the justice system appropriately, i.e. leftists, right wing or other protestors would face jail sentences.
Actually, it is not illegal to protest or disagree with an opinion.
Private venues are already free to suppress whatever speech they like - they can simply toss out anyone who says something they disagree with, or who tries to suppress speech the venue owner wants to promote.
This does something else - this limits the right to protest and/or disagree with speakers in public institutions by imposing an extremely severe sanction.
In the name of protecting free speech they are limiting it.
Have you ever disagreed with a speaker, or heckled one? Would you be happy for that heckle to cost you your education?
Like I said, it sounds like a bad law to me.
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