Free speech activists have won a case against the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) after the college created designated ‘speech zones’, and asked for students to apply for a permit before engaging in public speaking on campus
The Young Americans for Liberty Chapter, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) initially had their case dismissed in the lower courts.
However, after filing an appeal in February, the case was elevated to the Supreme Court.
The chapter deems the new university rules to be a violation to the Alabama Constitution, as well as the college’s own free speech act.
However, one of the issues believed to have been regularly debated on campus was gun control. In 2010, three faculty members at UAH were killed, and three others injured, after a biology professor opened fire in a staff meeting.
The Alliance for Defending Freedom is the world’s largest legal organisation committed to religious freedoms and free speech.
Celebrating the win, ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch said: “College students have the freedom to share their beliefs anywhere on campus; they don’t need permission from college officials to speak, nor should they have to jump through burdensome and illegal hoops just to talk with their classmates outside.”
Premier has reached out to UAH for comment.