ACLU Criticizes ‘Heckler’s Veto’ of Coulter at Berkeley: ‘We Must Protect Speech on Campus’
You may very well wonder what the ACLU’s position is on the fracas over Ann Coulter‘s speech at Berkeley being cancelled as a result of the “heckler’s veto.” Well…
The heckler’s veto of Coulter's Berkeley speech is a loss for the 1st Amendment. We must protect speech on campus, even when hateful.
— ACLU National (@ACLU) April 26, 2017
The ACLU has received criticism for not being more outspoken about Coulter’s case, though some ACLU officials have been weighing in. Take, for instance, this tweet:
Ann Coulter's a racist goon. But shame on @UCBerkeley for canceling her speech. Home of the #FreeSpeechMovement?! https://t.co/qpfAVQfOxV pic.twitter.com/0mifIW29rH
— Cecillia Wang (@WangCecillia) April 20, 2017
Both the ACLU and Ben Wizner––director of their Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project––engaged with people on Twitter who had questions about their position:
@CurtisOrion Yes, the problem with a hecklers veto is not the hecklers, it's the govt (college) canceling the event bc of them. https://t.co/LDWqjpzpbL
— ACLU National (@ACLU) April 26, 2017
@CurtisOrion Canceling an event to avoid the planned protest in reaction to it IS the hecklers veto.
— ACLU National (@ACLU) April 26, 2017
@CurtisOrion So then anytime they don't want to deal with a protest, they could just predict rioting to cancel the event
— ACLU National (@ACLU) April 26, 2017
@RVAwonk No, the protesters (hecklers) aren't the problem. We shared the definition of the hecklers veto here— https://t.co/LDWqjpzpbL
— ACLU National (@ACLU) April 26, 2017
@ParkerMolloy @ACLU But not curious enough to do a Google search?
— Ben Wizner (@benwizner) April 26, 2017
@ParkerMolloy @ACLU I apologize for being a jerk. But it seemed like an odd question to ask on Twitter.
— Ben Wizner (@benwizner) April 26, 2017
@sanspoint @ACLU No, booing is protected by the first amendment. But the govt (here, UC Berkeley) has a duty to protect both speaker and protestors.
— Ben Wizner (@benwizner) April 26, 2017
@sanspoint @ACLU "Heckler's veto" is a legal term of art for when the govt says: you can't have your event because of planned protests.
— Ben Wizner (@benwizner) April 26, 2017
@TheCaterjillar @sanspoint @ACLU No, protest it! This is a critique of the college, not the protestors (unless violent).
— Ben Wizner (@benwizner) April 26, 2017
Coulter has cancelled her speech, lamenting today as a sad day for free speech, and thanking liberals like Bill Maher for defending her right to speak.
Even both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren defended her right to speak leading up to today.
[image via screengrab]
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