RC Journal, SDSU Collegian blast hate speech bill

House Bill 1073 seeks to force South Dakota's college campuses to allow hate speech that could lead to violence and opens universities to lawsuits.

It's sponsored by the worst of the worst earth haters in the Legislature.

Such is the case with House Bill 1073, an onerous piece of legislation that aims to regulate free speech on college campuses by demanding policies with language influenced by lawmakers, requiring the state’s public universities to file annual progress reports to lawmakers, and encouraging individuals to sue the state if they sense an injustice. The bill is sponsored by 30 lawmakers, including Senators Phil Jensen, Terri Haverly and Alan Solano and Representatives Lynne DiSanto and Julie Frye-Mueller, all Rapid City Republicans. This legislation isn't about free speech. It's about making a political point at the expense of taxpayers and the state's universities.

Read the rest at the new and improved Rapid City Journal.

The simple fact of the matter is, freedom of speech is not under attack on South Dakota college campuses, and HB 1073 opens institutes of higher education up to frivolous litigation and imposes unnecessary standards upon them. Speech that challenges students creates a full college experience and is essential for institutions of higher education. But we don’t need this bill to protect our freedom of speech. We need students, faculty, staff, Brookings community members, South Dakotans and United States citizens to use their First Amendment rights and continue to speak freely.

Read that here.

Even the Republican state Board of Regents executive director and CEO, Mike Rush, says HB1073 is a solution in search of a problem.

Thoughts? Prayers?