A conservative activist invited and then prevented from speaking at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High will bring his gun-rights message to an off-campus location later this month, a student organizer said on Friday.
The turning away of prominent pundit Charlie Kirk, seen in some right-wing circles as the latest example of school campuses censoring conservative ideas, was not based on ideological biases, according to a spokesperson for Broward County Public Schools.
"The school’s administration has met with the student organizers and advised them that non-school sponsored, student-initiated guest speaker assemblies/meetings are not permitted to take place on campus," wrote spokesperson Cathleen Brennan in an email to the Miami Herald.
Kirk, 24, is the founder of Turning Point USA[1], a conservative group that aims to "push back against intolerance and bias against conservatives in higher education," according to a mission statement posted to its website. His group, which claims to have representation on more than 1,200 high school and college campuses nationwide, regularly inks sponsorship deals with the National Rifle Association.
I have been invited by students at Parkland high school to come as a guest speaker in the coming 2 weeks. I excitedly accept and look forward to discussing our right to bear arms in front of a captive student audience
This is of course unless I get blocked by the administration https://t.co/MUxaUefhxm[2]
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11)
Kirk, whose speaking engagements at college campuses have drawn protests[4], implied his politics played a role in his rejection from the Parkland high school.
"It seems there has been a decision to not allow me on campus," he wrote on Twitter. "However, I bet if
