Alliance Defending Freedom speaker shares why law students should hear healthy debate
I am the speaker the University of Kansas School of Law tried to cancel last October. I think it would help people to understand this situation if they see that I am a real person and to hear my perspective on the controversy.
I did speak, and things went well. The KU Federalist Society invited me to speak on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent changes in Establishment Clause doctrine, which I argued will help protect individuals’ religious liberty from needless government suppression. I have argued before the Supreme Court and worked closely on at least 25 cases there.
I speak at about a dozen law schools a year and have done so for the past 20 years or so. I’ve spoken at top law schools, like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and they have invited me back to speak. I spoke at KU. Students asked questions. Open and robust debate occurred. Nothing bad happened.
A KU Law School Committee opposed my appearance but made no effort to contact me about my topic or to allow me to reassure them about its concerns.
KU Law School officials opposed my speech not because of my topic, but because I work for Alliance Defending Freedom. I was saddened how the KU Faculty/Staff Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee wrote a statement denouncing my appearance on campus that did not treat me as a fellow human being with thoughts on important legal questions but reduced me to an ominous abstraction — a cardboard cutout too dangerous to allow on campus.
The committee’s statement did not even give my name. I viewed their statement as saying I was not worthy of respect or dignity but only recrimination.
The law school officials believed all of the negative stories about ADF with no independent research. The KU committee recited accusations against ADF from the Southern Poverty Law Center and automatically assumed all were true. If they had bothered to do some minimal independent investigation, they would have learned the accusations are factually false. The SPLC has sadly become a discredited organization seeking to find new enemies to fight to justify its existence and its incessant fundraising.
Here are some facts about ADF that contradict SPLC’s false narrative:
• ADF has won 14 cases at the Supreme Court in the past 11 years, a record most law firms and public interest groups would envy. Liberal justices have ruled in favor of ADF’s positions.
• The ACLU and the NAACP have joined ADF in four friend-of-the-court briefs at the Supreme Court.
• The Southern Poverty Law Center joined an amicus brief two terms ago urging the Supreme Court to rule in favor of an ADF case, which we won.
The law school officials shamelessly pressured the student leaders to rescind the speaking invitation. KU school officials pressured the student leaders of the Federalist Society to cancel its invitation to me. They told them they were jeopardizing their future legal careers if they had me speak on campus. Those courageous students stood resolute against the intimidation and refused.
KU, do you really want to train your future lawyers to cave in to pressure from the authorities to censor a speaker because he advocates the “wrong” viewpoint? You should want them to stand strong for their beliefs and dedication to free debate. You should honor the Federalist Society leaders for their courage and admit that you handled this situation poorly.
Passionate, respectful debate between people of opposing viewpoints builds tolerance and friendships in our community because we see we are all working for the common good. KU should encourage, not suppress, more debate on campus.
Jordan Lorence is senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal).
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Confessions of the speaker KU Law School almost canceled in October
