JONATHAN TURLEY: This blue state's latest attack on free speech is awful and sneaky, too
First Amendment principles face new threats from both government overreach and corporate gatekeeping.
The press tends to treat Colorado’s speech fights as quirky culture-war scuffles, as if the real story is who feels offended. Turley’s point is sharper: the state keeps testing the First Amendment as a policy tool, then acting surprised when courts swat it down. What gets missed is the pattern.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Colorado arguably ranks as the most anti-free speech state, pushing unconstitutional measures that have led to major First Amendment court losses.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The press tends to treat Colorado’s speech fights as quirky culture-war scuffles, as if the real story is who feels offended. Turley’s point is sharper: the state keeps testing the First Amendment as a policy tool, then acting surprised when courts swat it down.
What gets missed is the pattern. When lawmakers write rules that “protect” people by narrowing what can be said, they invite selective enforcement and political payback. That is not progress. It is a slow erosion of public trust and a shortcut around open debate.
A conservative view starts with free speech as a precondition for self-government, not a privilege managed by bureaucrats. If Colorado wants lasting institutional stability, it should stop gambling on unconstitutional schemes and respect the rule of law.
The principle at stake is simple: government should not get to decide which viewpoints are safe enough to speak.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.