Fear the State Senate

I get that there is a large group of University of Maryland students that are upset by a state senator threatening to cut funding if a pornographic motion picture is shown on campus.

I get the issue: student's right to free speech without threat of consequences.

I agree that students' free speech should be protected under the First Amendment.





The bottom line, though, is that the students' Freedom of Speech is not being threatened, as obscenity is not protected under the First Amendment.

Sorry guys.

It's not moral for a senator to blatantly and cavalierly threaten a university based on his own moral hangups, but...it they want to win that war, they need to fight better battles.

Until Miller vs. California is overturned, or whatever SCotUS does to reverse decisions, the University of Maryland's refusal to show pornography is not only legal, but it's also the only prudent thing to do. The state really could cut funding to the school. Would they? I doubt it. But they certainly could.


So, maybe instead of bellyaching about not being able to show pornography on campus, maybe we should all be looking for something a little more productive to fight for. This just makes the exceptional students of the University of Maryland look like spoiled idiots.