ome California leftists have been working mightily to slice and dice the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. They don’t believe that freedom of speech should apply to everyone. In some cases, pusillanimous college administrators abet them.

Two years ago, a group of leftists in Humboldt County set out to prevent certain companies from making campaign contributions, despite the fact that, under state law, corporations may do just that. They wrote an initiative, Measure T, to prohibit any “non-local” corporations from contributing to campaigns in the county. “Non-local” was defined as any business that had at least one employee living outside the county. It passed.

This year, the Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm, filed suit on behalf of two locally-based companies that each had one or two employees in branch offices outside the county. A judge granted an injunction blocking enforcement of Measure T and, in her written opinion, hinted strongly that in a trial there was a likelihood Measure T would be struck down. Ultimately, the county government, faced with defending a weak case, voided Measure T. The county had to pay the plaintiffs’ court costs, a taxpayer expense that didn’t bother the proponents who claimed they were standing “on principle.” Their “principle,” of course, was that freedom of speech is okay for some, not for others.

Last month both Eureka and its neighbor, Arcata, had identical ballot measures to prohibit military recruiters from initiating conversations with youths under 18 years of age. These initiatives were cooked up by anti-military leftists and were passed by the voters, despite the near certainty that the federal government would contest their legality under the Constitution. It did. The cities have received letters from the federal government announcing its intention to file suit. While freedom of speech is involved, the main point of the government’s case will be that these measures violate the “supremacy” clause of the Constitution, which says that federal law is the supreme law of the land and that states cannot usurp the role of Congress in outlining the rules governing military recruiting.

Eureka’s city council has voted to have the city attorney defend the suit, but not with much vigor, as the city has a very tight budget and no money to spare for outside attorneys. As it is, the city attorney said if only staff time is devoted to defense of the suit, it will prevent said staff from doing much of anything else.

The proponents of this mischievous measure have ignored the fact that under federal law, a minor may not enlist in the armed services without the written consent of a parent or guardian. The leftists’ victory at the polls was pyrrhic, for recruiters cannot be kept off publically-funded school campuses (federal law). If the measures were to stand, they would merely prevent the recruiters from initiating conversations with young people under 18. Thus, the measures amount to very expensive (for the taxpayers) symbolism.

At Yuba College, the authorities seem to be unfamiliar with the First Amendment’s protection of free speech and religion. They have laid down a rule that free speech may be exercised for one hour each Tuesday and Thursday and then only in the “free speech zone” in the school’s theater. When student Ryan Dozier passed out Christian literature on the school grounds, the campus police threatened to arrest him for not complying with the school’s rule. Apparently, the school authorities believe that their rule trumps the First Amendment.