Florida Politics Jacob Ogles on March 21, 2019
New legislation filed by U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney seeks to eliminate free speech zones on university campuses.
His bill (HR 1672) amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow political expression in outdoor areas for campuses. The legislation applies to public institutions of higher education.
“Many colleges and universities use dangerous and insidious methods to suppress free speech,” Rooney said in announcing the bill.
He wrote that the very idea of “free speech zones,” where universities confine political protests, is an “oxymoron.”
“An absolute truth, a right guaranteed under the Constitution, should not become a negotiable, transient issue of policy.”