Marsha Blackburn: “It is so interesting to always come to the floor and speak on topics that are important to Tennesseans and I think also…”

“It is so interesting to always come to the floor and speak on topics that are important to Tennesseans and I think also to Americans. As I begin my remarks, I want to kind of build the context for this and take us back to a time I know the Presiding Officer recalls, and so do I. It was the sixties. I was a child who was growing up. I remember it as a decade where bold statements and brash behavior and activists from each side of the aisle set the standard for what we today look at and say is a modern-day political protest. What we saw in this decade was once-sleepy college campuses became the scenes of widespread unrest. Tensions were high and conditions were perfect for what else but a Supreme Court battle. In September 1969, a group of students attending Central Connecticut State University decided they wanted to organize a local chapter of the organization Students for Democratic Society. The university president rejected the application, claiming that the SDS philosophy was ``antithetical to the school's policies'' and could be a disruptive influence on campus. Now, I am sure he thought he had a good point. The national SDS organization was known for its fiery protests, and its now-notorious acts of civil disobedience. They made it their business to make authority figures nervous. Nervousness, however, is not an exception to the First Amendment. The students knew that, so the lawsuits started flying.…”