Arkansas lawmaker pushes a bill so bad it should be banned

House Bill 1218 by Rep. Mark Lowery (R-Maumelle) earns the dubious distinction of being one of the worst pieces of legislation at the Arkansas Capitol this year. This modern-day-book-burning law would cut funding for any public schools and universities that did their job of making students think about hard things.

Specifically, HB 1218 would prohibit any public funding of schools, colleges and universities that “allow” classes, activities, or events that “promote” social justice for a race, gender, religion or class.

If our legislators are willing to put partisanship aside and vote based on reason and logic, this bill should quickly and easily fail in committee. Here’s why:

HB 1218 is unconstitutional. The bill prohibits teachers from “promoting” social justice but allows them to do exactly the opposite. They could disparage, discourage or criticize the concept of racial justice or gender equality, but they could not present these ideas as positive or valuable. While I am sure that many of the bill’s sponsors would approve of this outcome, it is not constitutionally acceptable in a society that values and protects the free expression of ideas.

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https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/02/01/arkansas-lawmaker-pushes-a-bill-so-bad-it-should-be-banned