The Young Americans for Liberty at University of Toledo hosted a pro-gun event last week amid a protest.
On April 4, Larry Pratt, executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America, gave a lecture called “Eliminate Gun Free Zones” in order to provide balance in the debate on gun control in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., shooting.
In the days leading up to the lecture, fliers for the event were repeatedly taken down and replaced with posters that say “White supremacy has no place here” and “Black Lives Matter Not White Supremacists.”
The opinion editor for the school’s newspaper, Jessica Harker, was caught on film tearing down flyers for the event. When she realized she was being filmed, she walked up and said “do something” directly into the camera.
Jori Schlievert, YAL chapter president, met with the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, after which Harker’s status with the newspaper became “no longer affiliated.”
The student newspaper, the Collegian, put out a Facebook post stating: “We, as a paper, pride ourselves on expressing our freedom of speech, and it is our responsibility to protect every individual’s right to do the same. I hope our readers understand that the actions taken by one individual are not representative of our entire newspaper.”
A member of the College Democrats smeared Pratt as a “white supremacist” on Twitter.
Good afternoon. Just a reminder that @ToledoYAL is bringing white supremacist @larrypratt to speak on @UToledo ‘s campus today
— Connor M. Kelley (@ConnorKelley__) April 4, 2018
Today is the 50th anniversary of MLK’s assassination. The students of @ToledoYAL decided to remember him by inviting a white supremacist to speak on campus.
— Connor M. Kelley (@ConnorKelley__) April 4, 2018
According to Schilevert, the harassment continued during Pratt’s lecture. One disruptive protester was escorted out of the event while yelling, “Hands up don’t shoot.” Others continued to heckle throughout Pratt’s speech.
“They continued to interject during the speech. They were very rude, and I could not be more disappointed by their behavior,” Schilevert told Red Alert Politics. “We have gotten good feedback from administration for handling things very well and respectfully, despite the attempted provocation from the other side.”
The YAL chapter at the University of Toledo plans to keep the debate going by holding a free speech forum later this month.
