Iowa State Correctly Responds to Complaint About Gun-Themed Event

The student organization hosting this event completed all required event authorizations. We understand not everyone will support the topic, but all students have the right to gather and exercise speech protected by the First Amendment.

— Iowa State University (@IowaStateU) March 24, 2021

Thanks to Robert Shibley (FIRE) at InstaPundit for the pointer; for more on free speech and college students, see:

Comments

[Dr. Ed 2]

I respect FIRE a lot, but what they fail to understand is that the IHE will "get" the students for something else instead.

For example, were anyone stupid enough to host an event like this at UMass -- and I would bluntly call them "stupid" for trying to -- UMass would simply use ACT to lynch them. They'd be tried in absentia and declared "dangerous" (because of the word "gun") and expelled from school on that basis.

I have no doubt this would happen, absolutely NONE, and I've seen similar sanction for far less egregious things -- h*ll, I've suffered (an attempt at) a similar sanction for merely complaining about being physically assaulted by a contractor.

I hate to say this but anyone who honestly believes that students have all of those rights is hopelessly naive....

[Kazinski]

Well a lot of the deterence is knowing you will have to have the resources for a multi-year fight risking your job or education, knowing that you aren't going to get any support from the federal or state courts in the NE.

Iowa universities know that the state legislature is also ready to take action should they dig their heals in when they are called out, as well as the fact they are already on notice they don't have anymore bites at the qualified immunity apple over free speech restrictions.

What the tweeting complainer doesn't seem to get is if ISU gives student organizations access to the email list, they can't restrict the access to the email list based on the content of the message.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Iowa universities know that the state legislature is also ready to take action.."

That's starting to happen in a lot of states and if anything saves higher education, it will be this. Red state universities are hiring from the same pool of psychotic administrators that everyone else is, but legislative restraints on them may well pay great dividends in the future.

"...if ISU gives student organizations access to the email list, they can’t restrict the access to the email list based on the content of the message."

Planet UMass has been doing exactly that for decades -- concepts of content neutrality and equal access to a public forum be damned.

[David Nieporent]

and I’ve seen similar sanction

As always: nobody believes you.

[santamonica811]

All seems entirely appropriate. Bri (there is no indication that she is a lawyer), writes about this upcoming event, expressing grave concerns about the unfortunate timing.

ISU ( a college who has access to lawyers who are well-versed in the first amendment) writes a concise explanation...and manages to do so without blaming Bri, or blowing things up, or adding fuel to the fire.

A simple explanation by the school, a clear explanation by the school. And, hopefully, resulting in the end of any potential issue. I love it when things work like they're supposed to.

Bravo (or brava . . . I'm not sure how ISU self-identifies). 🙂

[tkamenick]

Or bravi!

[Number 2]

Bravx?

[DaivdBehar]

Here is a simplified explanation of the Second Amendment for the lawyer. It is not to protect hunting or target shooting. It is not to enable self defense against the lawyer client, the criminal. It is to enable the shooting of Democrats after they turn our nation into a permanent one party state shithole.

The Founders had experience with resistance to the British Army. Lucky they had the Second Amendment to help defeat them again in 1812.

[Nige]

Don't forget the fear of slave uprisings. They needed guns for those.

[markm23]

Don't forget that gun control was invented to prevent freedmen from defending themselves with guns.

[Sebastian Cremmington]

More guns out in public at worst has been innocuous with respect to violent crime...but from the mid 1990s to today mass shootings have become more frequent. So most mass shooters are males 18-26 that are declining into mental illness and are either suicidal or don’t care if they die. So more guns on law abiding citizens’ person isn’t a deterrence when the criminal is suicidal and mentally deranged. The worst two shootings were by suicidal men over 26 that weren’t mentally deranged which is probably why those events had the highest number of deaths.

I also believe there is a copycat element to these mass shootings just like suicidal people in San Francisco see people jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge and get the idea...which is why the local media now doesn’t cover bridge jumpers in SF.

We should consider not giving these events national coverage AND raising the age limit to 26 for males to purchase guns without a sponsor.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

No, mass shootings have not become more frequent. There is no data to support that unless you take a very short time frame. In fact, there are so few mass shootings that the number changes radically every year, up and down, allowing people like you to cherry pick the time frame necessary to support their agenda.

[Dr. Ed 2]

"I also believe there is a copycat element to these mass shootings just like suicidal people in San Francisco see people jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge and get the idea…which is why the local media now doesn’t cover bridge jumpers in SF. "

Exactly -- except bride jumping doesn't advance a political agenda, covering mass shootings does.

As an aside, don't they have a tactical team of volunteers from the bridge maintenance crew who go out to rescue the jumpers who change their minds? THOSE are the people who deserve the publicity -- it's not a job I would want to do...

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

but from the mid 1990s to today mass shootings have become more frequent

The urge to blindly repeat claims that have no basis in fact should be resisted, not indulged.

[Jimmy the Dane]

@BriNelsen should be properly shamed for being a stupid cry baby.

[iowantwo]

We should consider not giving these events national coverage AND raising the age limit to 26 for males to purchase guns without a sponsor.

The same age of majority for voting, getting an abortion, and filing for welfare benefits.

[Joberama]

Ahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa, speed up the audio all you like, clip off your sentences, use those adorable, exquisite stick figures animations...but you'll still never be CGP Grey. And trying THAT hard is just telling on yourselves.

[Eugene Volokh]

Joberama: CGP Grey is totally my video hero. I'll settle for being 1/4 of CGP Grey.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Just watched his pirate video. He didn't mention the red flag (which I understand meant no quarter asked or given, and usually only raised once the Jolly Roger was spurned), and didn't mention voting for captain, but he covered enough in such a short video. Thanks for the link, you two!

[santamonica811]

What link????

[perlhaqr]

I think they're talking about the video at the end of the post.

[Jimmy the Dane]

We hear a lot of speech codes, but how about we finally adopt a "free speech code." In the same vein as conspiracy to deny civil rights, students should be held accountable for censoring free speech. I know certain speech that advocates censoring speech is protected, but I am talking about actual actions here designed to deny students their rights to free speech such as heckling a speaker or taking over a stage. Students who engage in such conduct should be promptly expelled and this kind of behavior should not be tolerated.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I'd be happy if we could merely get administrators to stop encouraging students to do so.

I once had the UMass Women's Center -- paid student affairs administrators (state employees) take out a paid ad in the student newspaper encouraging students to disrupt my event. This was OK because they used donor money instead of state money to pay for the ad.

Jimmy, this stuff is not being organized by students....

[Jimmy the Dane]

Of course administrators ought to be fired for such behavior as well. In fact, that would be easier to implement because they are just employees and would only have limited free speech protections (if employed by a public university).

[Jimmy the Dane]

I can't find the incident now, but I remember in the early 2000's the a college administration raided the student activity fee (which was supposed to be run by students too) to buy up all the tickets to a student organization event and then gave them all, free of charge, to protesters which shut down that event. If they were public employees that kind of conspiracy is borderline criminal. Conspiracies to deny citizens their civil rights ought to be taken seriously and prosecuted.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Gun nuts — like racists, gay-bashers, vote suppressors, misogynists, xenophobes, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, “often libertarian” bloggers, and other fading culture war casualties — have rights, too, emphatically including the right to publish poorly timed material.

[John F. Carr]

Let's see if the tolerance holds up now that the story has hit the media. I will try to follow this because I am on Iowa State's donor mailing list and they will come to me and ask for money. I'm a few digits short of the "name a building after me" level, though, so they won't be walking on eggshells for fear of offending me.

[Per Son]

Life must be tough for a lot of you. Iowa handled an issue properly, and all most you wanna do is complain about a bunch of whatifs.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

It probably is no fun to be disaffected and desperate in a society that has moved, is moving, and will continue to move past you.

[Iridium]

I see nothing in the article, other than honest kudos to a school administrator that not only took the right action, but also did so in a way that didn't inject their opinion of the speech or would result in escalation.

It is refreshing when critics occasionally point out even people do good and don't exclusively focus on what not to do.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

"Thanks to Robert Shibley (FIRE) at InstaPundit for the pointer"

Thanks for pointing out that FIRE is just another ankle-nipping, partisan, "own the libs" soldier for the clingerverse on the wrong side of history and the losing side of the culture war.