5 Reactions to the Cancellation of Ann Coulter's Berkeley Speech
3. The ACLU
Despite strong ideological differences with Coulter, the American Civil Liberties Union is among those denouncing the cancellation of her speech at Berkeley.
ACLU National Legal Director David Cole denounced what he described as the "hecklers' veto" of Coulter's speech, calling the threats that led to the cancellation "inconsistent with free speech principles that protect us all from government overreach."
"Hateful speech has consequences, particularly for people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others who have been historically marginalized. But if the government gets to decide which speech counts as hate speech, the powers that be may later feel free to censor any speech they don't like," said Cole in a statement released Wednesday.
"For the future of our democracy, we must protect bigoted speech from government censorship. On college campuses, that means that the best way to combat hateful speech is through counter-speech, vigorous and creative protest, and debate, not threats of violence or censorship."
