From college campuses to legislative chambers — and all the way to the White House — people are trying to control what other people say. This isn’t new. But examples seem more plentiful lately.
Does America have a free speech problem?
That’s our Question of the Week for readers.
Is there too little or too much freedom of speech? Is it a particular issue these days? If so, what’s causing it and what’s the solution?
Have you felt that your political views were being stifled, whether at work, at school or in your personal life? Has your exercise of your freedom of speech led to adverse effects?
Are liberals or conservatives more to blame? How are the Trump administration and its critics affecting free speech? How responsibly are members of the media exercising this right?
In California alone, February saw UC Berkeley cancel a speech by then-Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos following protests, and Orange Coast College suspend a student who recorded a professor’s anti-Donald Trump rant.
Last week, Democratic leaders in the California Senate had Republican Sen. Janet Nguyen, of Garden Grove, removed from the Senate floor when she tried to speak critically of the late state Sen. Tom Hayden, whom Democrats had honored two days prior.
This was similar to the incident early in February when Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate silenced Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., when she criticized Republican and then-Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama during a debate about Sessions’ nomination for attorney general.
Press freedom advocates are crying foul over President Trump’s castigation of some major media outlets as “the enemy of the people,” and spokesman Sean Spicer’s decision to bar from a briefing reporters from several newspapers, online news sites and TV networks.
Are Americans as free as ever to speak and write freely about the events of the day?
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