As a law professor, I am a strong defender of free speech. Defending free speech as a constitutional principle means defending the right of people to speak even when I disagree with their message.

As a Democratic State Representative from Iowa City, I have heard a lot recently about how Iowa Republicans believe they are victims of First Amendment violations against conservative speech. The Iowa House Government Oversight Committee held hearings to review complaints that the Regents Universities had infringed on conservative students free speech rights. In the University of Iowa case, the College of Dentistry Dean admitted that the College was wrong to schedule an inquiry for a student who criticized the Colleges statement opposing an Executive Order issued by then-President Trump. Republican lawmakers accused the universities of hypocrisy, and said that it is a universitys job to educate, not indoctrinate.

I readily concede that the University made a mistake. Under the First Amendment, a state university should not punish anyone for commenting on a matter of public concern such as an Executive Order. To do so is not only a violation of First Amendment principles; it is also antithetical to the Universitys educational mission to foster robust debate across different points of view. I was glad to see that university officials immediately recognized their mistake, apologized, and reversed course.

But there is another side to this story. Iowa Republicans say they are victims of free speech violations, but they are also perpetrators. Several of them have made statements or introduced bills that blatantly violate principles of free speech and association.

Here are just a few of the more egregious examples from the first five weeks of the legislative session:

Iowa House and Senate leadership should have pronounced these bills dead on arrival. Instead, they breathed life into them by assigning them to committees and allowing them to advance to committee and perhaps even to the floor. Even if these bills dont ultimately pass, they do real damage to our educational system every time they are publicly debated. They also chill free speech, as no one dares to speak against them for fear that they or their employer will be further punished by vindictive legislation.

When conservatives believe their free speech rights have been violated, they are right to call it out. We should all call it out, no matter who is speaking. But our Republican state legislators also need to clean up around their own doorstep. And they should certainly stop playing the victim when they hold all the political power in the state and are wielding it to suppress the free speech of thousands of Iowans.

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Letter to the editor: Free speech and politics in Iowa - Little Village