No More Free Speech Zones in Colorado

, Spencer Irvine, Leave a comment

As FIRE noted, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a bipartisan bill into law that dismantled ‘free speech zones’ in the state of Colorado:

…Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill that will prevent Colorado’s public colleges and universities from quarantining students’ expressive activities into tiny, misleadingly labelled “free speech zones.” The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education was joined by the ACLU of Colorado in lobbying for the bill, which passed the Colorado General Assembly with bipartisan support.

Senate Bill 17-062 was sponsored by Sen. Tim Neville, co-sponsored by Reps. Jeff Bridges and Stephen Humphrey, and strongly supported by Rep. Dave Williams. Under the new law, any lawful student speech in the open, outdoor areas of Colorado’s public campuses may now be subject only to reasonable, content- and viewpoint-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions that are narrowly tailored in furtherance of a significant institutional interest.