As 10 anti-LGBTQ+ bills sit on the desks of governors across the country, one became law on Monday. North Dakota governor Doug Burgum signed a proposal that critics warned would allow discrimination against queer and transgender college students under the cover of protecting freedom of speech.
Supporters say that House Bill 1503 is intended to prevent the infringement of First Amendment rights at the 11 North Dakota colleges that receive state funding. Introduced by State Representative Kim Koppelman (R-13th District), HB 1503 forbids campuses from limiting unpopular or offensive opinions to selected “free speech zones” on school grounds.
The legislation also states that colleges cannot refuse “funding to a student group based on its viewpoint or prohibit guest speakers based on their views or content of the speech,” according to the Bismarck-Minot CBS affiliate KXMA.
HB 1503 passed the North Dakota Legislative Assembly by wide margins earlier this year, despite the fact that critics say it addressed an issue the state doesn’t have. Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs in the North Dakota University System (NDUS), says it has fielded no First Amendment complaints “for at least the last 12 years.”
“Despite the fact that our campuses have not encountered any substantiated cases of restrictions being placed on free speech, have had no speakers shouted down, no visitors assaulted, no ‘disinvited’ speakers, and no student complaints… there are still external forces that continue to perpetuate the notion that North Dakota colleges and universities are actively working against free speech and freedom of expression,” Johnson told the Grand Forks Herald in March.
NDUS has opposed HB 1503, believing that it could potentially “invite lawsuits,”according to KXMA.
While the legislation does not solve any problems currently North Dakota is currently facing, advocates say it stands to further discriminate against LGBTQ+ college students in the state.
According to a statement from the Human Rights Campaign, HB 1503 “undermines ‘all-comers’ policies” requiring student-led groups to allow all members to join regardless “race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.” Per the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, states have the ability to withhold funding to schools that allow student groups to turn away potential LGBTQ+ participants.
With HB 1503 signed into law, HRC president Alphonso David claims that collegiate organizations “can now choose to turn away a range of potential members and leaders — from LGBTQ students to students of particular gender, race, or religious belief — and still receive state funding.”
“This law is nothing more than a harmful attempt by Gov. Doug Burgum and North Dakota legislators to discriminate against LGBTQ and other marginalized communities,” he said in a statement. “No student should be denied full access to and enjoyment of educational, social, and leadership opportunities typically offered by colleges and universities because of who they are.”
Other LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations joined in blasting HB 1503 in statements shared with them. Brian Bond, the executive director of PFLAG National, claimed the legislation “undermines fair and equal access to education for all people,” while GLSEN interim executive director Melanie Willingham-Jaggers accused North Dakota Republicans of “making schools more dangerous for LGBTQ+ students and for all students.”
“There is no justification for excluding students from clubs and other opportunities, and it’s clear that this law is a result of certain extreme anti-LGBTQ+ politicians pushing their own political agenda, when they should be devoting their energy to supporting schools with resources to help them recover from the pandemic,” Willingham-Jaggers said in an email.
Despite the fact that North Dakota has been one of the most heavily impacted states by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, HB 1503 isn’t the only bill targeting LGBTQ+ people during the state’s 2021 legislative session. Of the two other pieces of discriminatory legislation introduced, the most alarming is HB 1298 — which seeks to ban transgender students from playing in sports in alignment with their gender identity. The bill is currently sitting on Burgum’s desk for approval.
