THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 17, 1995 TAG: 9501170004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: By JAMES S. GILMORE III
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Recently, I filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Gov. George F. Allen and the people of Virginia in support of one of our most cherished freedoms - ourFirst Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The case involves the University of Virginia and the student publication Wide Awake, which sought to address the issues of the day from a Christian standpoint. The university, through mandatory student fees, funds a wide variety of organizations and publications, including the Lesbian and Gay and Student Union, the Muslim Student Union and the Jewish Law Student Association. But when Wide Awake sought to publish its views, the university denied funding. The university claimed that the U.S. Constitution requires this result.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that by creating Wide Awake differently from other student publications, the university discriminated against Wide Awake based solely upon its religious viewpoint. But the court also said the university could engage in such discrimination to ensure separation of church and state. The U.S. Supreme Court then decided to review the case.
As attorney general, I have consistently spoken out in defense of the Bill of Rights, especially the right of free speech. I do not believe the University of Virginia is required to fund any ideas or publication. But if the university chooses to subsidize some groups' ideas, then it must treat all equally. Otherwise government will have the power to favor viewpoints it finds best and penalize those viewpoints with which it disagrees.
I believe, as did the university's founder, Thomas Jefferson, in a free and open marketplace of ideas. When the university denied funding to Wide Awake, while subsidizing secular publications, it distorted the marketplace of ideas and penalized certain students because of their viewpoints. I could not, in good faith, support the university in its legal position.
Some would argue that the hands of the attorney general are tied and that he must defend every government agency no matter what its position. But the attorney general is a statewide elected official whose first responsibility is to the people. When I took office, I swore to protect and defend the Constitution, not to simply defend the activities of state agencies, no matter the cost to freedom.
I cannot foresee how the Supreme Court may rule. It may adopt a restrictive view of the First Amendment, giving government the right to favor certain viewpoints over others. But I will not be a party to asking for such a ruling.
The First Amendment requires that government be neutral toward religious speech, not hostile. In the case of Widmar vs. Vincent, which considered whether student-run religious organizations should have access to university facilities, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said:
``Quite obviously, however, the University could not allow a group of Republicans or Presbyterians to meet while denying Democrats or Mormons the same privilege. It seems apparent that the policy under attack would allow groups of young philosophers to meet to discuss their skepticism that a Supreme Being exists, or a group of political scientists to meet to debate the accuracy of the view that religion is the `opium of the people.' If school facilities may be used to discuss anticlerical doctrine, it seems to me that comparable use by a group desiring to express a belief in God must also be permitted.''
Justice Stevens, no member of the religious right, sets a standard of fair dealing and quality of access to the marketplace of ideas.
Inscribed in marble at the east entrance to the University of Virginia is Mr. Jefferson's hope and dream:
``This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here, we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.''
As a faithful alumnus of the University of Virginia, I believed the university when its professors taught these principles to me as a student. I believe in freedom and equality of speech as the best way for the people to openly decide the truth. MEMO: Mr. Gilmore is Virginia's attorney general.
by CNB