GOP passes "Charlie Kirk Act" that could expel students who protest anti-LGBTQ+ speakershttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/04/gop-passes-charlie-kirk-act-that-could-expel-students-who-anti-lgbtq-speakers/ 🔗Molly Sprayregen (15 April 2026)
The Tennessee legislature has passed the Charlie Kirk Act, which, if signed by Gov. Bill Lee (R), will ban public institutions of higher education from preventing people with bigoted views from speaking on campus. Moreover, it will also punish students who speak out against campus speakers they disagree with.
The bill protects invited speakers as well as faculty members who express their views. It also explicitly states that a public institution of higher education cannot discriminate or retaliate against someone due to their views on "homosexuality, or transgender behavior, regardless of whether that opposition is motivated by religious or non-religious belief."
The legislation mandates that schools adopt the University of Chicago's Freedom of Expression Policy, which states that it is not the school's role to shield people from ideas and opinions they find abhorrent.
The Tennessee bill quotes parts of the policy, including a segment that touts that the school's "fundamental commitment is to the principle that debate or deliberation may not be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even by most members of the University community to be offensive, unwise, immoral, or wrong-headed."
