Rep. Ingram: FORUM Act is "completely unnecessary"

COLUMBUS— Rep. Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) voiced concerns over the House passage of Senate Bill (SB) 40 Wednesday, which would enact the “Forming Open and Robust University Minds Act” regarding free speech on college campuses.

Voicing concerns over the bill’s political nature and enabling of harmful hate speech on campuses, Rep. Ingram issued the following statement:

“The First Amendment already protects freedom of speech on Ohio’s campuses. This bill is a solution in search of a problem and completely unnecessary. This bill is purely political and could have a detrimental effect on Ohio’s college campuses. It could make our campuses less safe by blocking a university’s ability to regulate speech and that could potentially incite violence.”

The origins of the FORUM Act is model legislation created by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a libertarian think-tank.