Maher: Cancelling Speakers on Campus Is The Liberal ‘Version of Book Burning’

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher weighed in on the controversy over author Ann Coulter speaking at UC-Berkeley by declaring, “Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, and now it’s just the cradle for f*cking babies.” And “this is the liberals’ version of book burning, and it’s got to stop.”

Maher stated, “Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, and now it’s just the cradle for f*cking babies, who don’t, — and I feel like –. You know, this goes on all over the country on campuses. They invite someone to speak who’s not exactly what liberals want to hear, and they want to shut — I feel like this is the liberals’ version of book burning, and it’s got to stop. Howard Dean tweeted today about this, ‘Hate speech is not protected by the [F]irst [A]mendment.’ Yes, it is! Threats are not protected by the First Amendment. This why the Supreme Court said the Nazis could march in Skokie. They’re a hateful bunch, but that’s what the First Amendment means. It doesn’t mean, ‘Just shut up and agree with me.'”

He added that he “can’t believe” he has to remind liberals of this.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.