F.I.R.E. at will

CCAC is trying to deny its students the right to express opinions which aren't officially sanctioned:

In April, CCAC student Christine Brashier created pamphlets to distribute to her classmates encouraging them to join her in forming a chapter of the national Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) organization at CCAC. The handbill states that the group "supports the legalization of concealed carry by licensed individuals on college campuses." She personally distributed copies of the flyer, which identified her as a "Campus Leader" of the effort to start the chapter.

On April 24, Jean Snider, Student Development Specialist at CCAC's Allegheny Campus, summoned Brashier to a meeting that day with Snider and Yvonne Burns, Dean of Student Development. According to Brashier, the deans told Brashier that passing out her non-commercial pamphlets was prohibited as "solicitation." They told Brashier that trying to "sell" other students on the idea of the organization was prohibited.

CCAC also told Brashier that the college must pre-approve any distribution of literature to fellow students, and that pamphlets like hers would not be approved, even insisting that Brashier destroy all copies of her pamphlet.

Brashier reports that she was also interrogated about why she was distributing the pamphlets, whether she owned a licensed firearm and had ever brought it to campus (she has not), whether she carries a concealed firearm off campus, and whether she disagrees with the existing college policy banning concealed weapons on campus.

When Brashier stated that she wanted to be able to discuss this policy freely on campus, she was told to stop doing so without the permission of the CCAC administration. Dean Burns reportedly said, "You may want to discuss this topic but the college does not, and you cannot make us." Brashier was then told to cease all activities related to her involvement with SCCC at CCAC and that such "academic misconduct" would not be tolerated.

This is a pattern with left-wing bureaucrats. They hate the first amendment with a fury that is only matched by the venom spewed by the left's conservative strawmen which they soundly and righteously thrash for their unadulterated Fascism. Be it in a public university or community college, or in a local government's zoning authority, they will routinely find ways to violate the rights of those they disagree with.

Cases like this cry out for legal reform in the form of individual culpability for actions taken under the guise of corporate protection. There is no reason the school should have to be sued when it is two bureaucrats who are clearly ordering an easily identified violation of the first amendment. Snider and Burns should be personally sued, bankrupted and then fired for this violation of Brashier's constitutional rights since what they did was deliberate and pre-meditated. A similar policy would also work wonders for making law enforcement and prosecutors gain a sense of composure in tense situations, some manners and a profound sense of discernment in dealing with the public.

The only thing that surprises me about this case is the fact that they were so brazen about it. That they didn't even bother to fabricate a complaint from a student who was "scared and intimidated" by the pamphlets, and how direct their intent was when speaking to Brashier, suggests that they had no reason to believe that anyone in a position of authority would stand up for Brashier under any circumstances.