Campus Free-Speech Bill Is Nixed After Author Says It Would Allow ISIS Recruiters

A Tennessee lawmaker’s bill aimed at protecting free speech on public-college campuses was withdrawn from consideration after its author said the bill would extend to everyone, even recruiters for the Islamic State, the Associated Press reported.

While on the floor of Tennessee’s House of Representatives, Rep. Martin Daniel, a Republican, said that his bill, the Tennessee Student Free Speech Protection Act, supported the First Amendment rights of everyone, even groups that he disagrees with. The Tennessean reported that when asked if he meant that an ISIS representative could stand in the middle of a campus and recruit students, Mr. Daniel said that would be all right, “so long as it doesn’t disrupt the proceedings on that campus.”

The AP reported that the bill was withdrawn shortly thereafter.