Alabama’s Stand for Free Speech Sets an Example for the Nation

State mottos should be built to last, and Alabama’s lawmakers just applied theirs—Audemus jura nostra defendere or “We dare defend our rights”—to one of the most contentious and visible issues of debate today: free speech on college campuses.

Last week, Gov. Kay Ivey approved a proposal to protect the expressive rights of everyone who is part of a university community.

The proposal forbids so-called free speech zones, instructs university officials to be prepared to issue consequences to students who violate others’ right to listen and be heard, and assigns public university governing boards the task of writing an annual report on free speech-related incidents.

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