The Arizona Senate has given initial approval to a bill that would prohibit encampments on college campuses.
It would also give administrators the authority to have them removed and to discipline students who participate and refuse to leave. The bill comes after protesters against the Israel-Hamas war set up encampments on college campuses across the country last year.
Democratic Sen. Lauren Kuby opposes the measure.
"This legislation does represent unprecedented and unconstitutional intrusion on First Amendment rights. Particularly on K-12 and college campuses. These spaces are long standing spaces for public discourse, for academic inquiry and political dissent," Kuby said.
Supporters of the bill however say it does not crack down on free speech, but expands rights for everyone on school grounds.
"When these encampments pop up, it restricts the rights of other students. Because these people are taking public university land and appropriating it, seizing it for themselves so other people can’t use it," Republican Sen. John Kavanagh said.
The bill awaits a final vote in the Senate.
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