Sanders on Berkeley: Ann Coulter Has a Right to Speak ‘Without Fear of Violence’
Senator Bernie Sanders spoke out yesterday in condemnation of the security threats that led to Berkeley canceling Ann Coulter‘s planned speech.
Though they offered her another day to speak, Coulter has rejected Berkeley’s offer and their “arbitrary and harassing restrictions.” She still plans to be there on April 27th––the day she was invited by college Republicans to speak in the first place.
This once again has fueled debate about liberal activists on college campuses shutting down the speech of conservatives they disagree with, and it turns out that one of the people coming to Coulter’s defense is none other than Sanders.
The Vermont independent spoke to The Huffington Post and expressed his dismay over the security threats that led Berkeley to cancel the speech:
“Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation… If you can’t ask Ann Coulter in a polite way questions which expose the weakness of her arguments, if all you can do is boo, or shut her down, or prevent her from coming, what does that tell the world?”
He called this a “sign of intellectual weakness” and argued that it’s more effective to confront someone like Coulter on the issues instead of “shutting down events.”
On Friday Bill Maher blasted Berkeley students too, saying that this constant backlash against conservative speakers is “the liberals’ version of book burning.”
[image via BestStockFoto / Shutterstock.com]
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