cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30989415
Texas lawmakers trying to muzzle campus protests have just passed one of the most ridiculous anti-speech laws in the country. If signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Senate Bill 2972 would ban speech at night — from study groups to newspaper reporting — at public universities in the state.
Ironically, the bill builds on a previous law passed in 2019 meant to enshrine free speech on Texas campuses. But now, lawmakers want to crack down on college students’ pro-Palestinian protests so badly that they literally passed a prohibition on talking.
Do not worry friends. The Great Republic of Texzanistahn will soon realize their folly and once again make it legal for men to talk on college campuses at night.
I’d say that this is such a clear violation of the 1st amendment that it would be struck down quicker than Trump on a PDF File candidate but with all things given…
Take it all the way to the SCOTUS. Make them take a stand.
They stand for nothing.
Yeah, pretty much.
How do they expect people to get a degree if you cant stay up all night in a lab bashing 3 heads at a problem?
Like many laws, it will be enforced only against speech they don’t like. If you make it so that everyone is breaking laws at all times, you can target anyone you want with impunity while letting your friends run free.
or skin colors they don’t like
“It’s legal if we like it.” – GOP, probably.
Heh. Good fucking luck with that
Have you seen the number of people they’ve arrested and expelled in the last 2 years?
" a similar policy at Indiana University that required prior approval for protests on campus occurring between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m"
Kinda off topic but I think we need a different word for this kind of “protest”. If you’re gathering at a place chosen by the people you’re protesting against, at a time chosen by the people you’re protesting against, you aren’t protesting. You’re having a protest-roleplaying picnic
oh i am in the middle of writing a song about this. Its called You Are Not Invited To The Jaywalking Parade
It’s the “free speech zones” of the Dubya days all over again 😮💨
I’m partial to “parade.”
SB 2972 would require public universities in Texas to adopt policies prohibiting “engaging in expressive activities on campus between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.” Expressive activity includes “any speech or expressive conduct” protected by the First Amendment or Texas Constitution.
Let’s do the same thing with the second amendment and see how that goes over in Texas. “You have the right to bear arms, but not when you should be in bed…”
How does a law explicitly interfering with first amendment rights not get immediately struck down as unconstitutional? Limiting free speech is not even an unintended theoretical side effect of the bill; it’s the expressed purpose.
Just to be clear, limiting free speech is already allowed to a degree. The Supreme Court has long ruled that it’s legal to constrain the right to expression based on time, manner, and place restrictions, so long as those restrictions are content neutral, serve a legitimate public need, and are minimally restrictive to serve that need.
This law absolutely does not qualify. I’m sure they will argue it served some bullshit need to prevent disruption to campus activities, issues with policing, pubic safety, etc. But there is no chance that restricting all 1st amendment expression on a college campus for nearly 12 hours a day serves any legitimate public need in the least restrictive manner to serve that need. It will certainly be struck down as unconstitutional by a sensible judge somewhere along the way.
But the problem is that this law is not the goal. They want a judge to strike it down. They are trying to make the legitimate acts of the judicial out to be some sort of overreach on the will of Trump and conservative states. And even when it does get ruled against, they just have to keep appealing until they get to the Supreme Court and let the right wing nuts redefine our 1st amendment rights to suit their desires. Even if this particular law doesn’t survive their decision, you can bet your ass that they will set new precedent with the case that will fundamentally weaken free speech rights for all.
It still has to be passed before it can make it’s way through the courts to strike it down. And then it depends on the clearly partisan judges in Texas.
The politicians who write these laws should be fined for wasting the taxpayers’ money.
The fines should be immediate replacement.
No they should be imprisoned for 90 days, second offense 2 years, 3rd offense 10 years, with no way to appeal.
Immediately stripped of office for dereliction of duty to the American people. That’s the first step. Fines or jail after, scaled appropriately to the attempted damage they’re trying to cause.
The funny thing is, it was not explicitly clear at the time of the founding whether things like the First Amendment applied to States at all. After all, the Constitution applied to the Federal Government, and States had their own government…
… Until after the Civil War, when the 14th amendment was ratified. You might be familiar with the 14th Amendment as it is the one that guarantees birthright citizenship. Well, that’s just it’s first sentence. The second sentence also guarantees all citizens the rights enumerated in the Constitution, making it clear that the States cannot abridge those rights.
But right now, the plain language of the 14th Amendment is under attack by Conservatives who claim that it all of a sudden does not cover people born here whose parents are not citizens. So as long as today’s Conservatives will ignore one part of the 14th Amendment, why not ignore the rest and hope a captured SCOTUS makes it all hunky-dory after the fact!
If that part of the 14th doesn’t apply, then logically none of the people in the former Confederate states are US Citizens.
Pretty sure they don’t want that.
Oh they’ll figure out some tortured logic to make sure they get the outcome they want while screwing over people they hate.
You’re assuming that the supreme court still cares about the spirit or letter of the law. It’s just a rubber stamp for whatever the right wants.
This made me curious about what the Texas state constitution had for an equivalent to the 2nd amendment. Some states have their own, and strictly speaking, the federal second amendment wasn’t officially imposed on the states until 2010. (Yes, that does mean that states without their own constitutional restriction could have regulated guns as much as they wanted within their boarders.)
Texas does have one, and its an interesting case.
Sec. 23. RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defence [sic] of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime. (Feb. 15, 1876.)
Which is interesting because it has an explicit out for regulating carrying of firearms that the federal constitution does not. Doesn’t really matter now that the 2nd amendment is incorporated to the states, but the fact is that Texas would have expressly allowed certain regulations on firearms.
Shooting someone communicates hatred, fear, or self-defense, so it’ll be banned by default. Sometimes we’ll use gunshots for Morse code here
Wait, expressive activity includes expressive conduct? Who would have guessed?
Okaaaay…we’ll just do it in the daytime, where more people can witness it and more people can join us ✌️😂
GOP Congressmen are weak, ineffectual, inverse virtue signalers. We can’t let them just hang around like the Confederates did after the Civil War, which is a big part of why we’re back here again.
Inverse virtue signalers? Does that mean they’re “vice signalers,” or…?
Land of the free
Red Tailed Hawk screech
Rock, flag, and eagle, right Charlie?
*terms and conditions apply.
Texans should exercise their second amendment in order to protect their first. Kill traitors to the Constitution.
Technically we have more campus carry rights than 1st amendment rights now
Another day another Texass lesson in stupidity.
People in Texas go to college? You’d assume otherwise due to their abundance of grunting mammalians they call residents.
Texas has one or two schools that are generally considered to be pretty good. Maybe people just move away after they graduate? I’ve thought about getting a masters degree from a school in Austin but it’s for software and would be online only.
Also, fuck Texas.
Having lived here all my life, I don’t see how. It’s always been out of reach for my family and I.
