When Ethan Sabo contacted the First Amendment Center (FAC), which is operated by the SMU Dedman School of Law, he inquired as to whether the organization represented conservative causes. He received no response.
Sabo, who created a group of campaigners known as Mission DFW, often exercises his right to free expression under the First Amendment.
In an interview with The Dallas Express, Sabo said, “If they’re handing out free legal assistance, maybe I should get representation as well.” “Why aren’t they willing to respond to such a fundamental question? Before the internet, there were principled liberals who protected free speech regardless of whether they agreed with it.”
Mission The DFW website states that the organization’s mission is to hold “woke” firms, elected officials (including candidates for public office), media, and citizen groups accountable for engaging in “woke politics.”
WAKE is defined as the state of being aware of and concerned about sensitive social issues like as prejudice, transgenderism, and police brutality, according to media reports.
During an interview, Sabo stated that if the SMU First Amendment Center is solely representing lefties, conservative benefactors should rethink their decision to donate to the university.
The Stanton Foundation provided a $900,000 contribution to the SMU Dedman School of Law, which was used to establish the FAC in the autumn of 2020. The Stanton Foundation was established by Frank Stanton, a former president of CBS.
Among the alleged “leftists” who are being defended by lawyers linked with SMU FAC are local freelancer Steven Monacelli and Dallas Weekly, both of whom have been sued for defamation by Dallas Express Media (the non-profit ownership company that owns The Dallas Express).
Despite repeated requests for comment, Thomas Leatherbury SMU of Vinson and Elkins did not respond to a message seeking comment.
If Vinson & Elkins fully supports exclusively representing “left-of-center” persons and organisations, or if they simply refuse to comment, it’s unclear.
In addition, “organisations like the ACLU would routinely protect the rights of everyone—including conservatives—to express themselves freely in our culture,” Sabo said. These old-school liberals from the JFK period are nowhere to be found. The majority of these organisations, which claim to advocate free expression, are in fact vehicles for leftists to fund other socialist organisations without paying any taxes.”
According to a previous post in The Dallas Express, Monacelli accused the nonprofit Dallas Justice Now (DJN) of being a ‘fake’ social justice organisation in a July 28 piece that quickly gained widespread attention. After the DJN’s executives declined to grant Monacelli an interview, he questioned whether they even existed.
In response to a request for comment on why FAC is defending “liberal causes” and “leftists,” only Mark Chancey, professor of Religious Studies at the Dedman College of Humanities, responded.
As a result, Chancey told The Dallas Express in an email, “I have had no contact with this new facility and so cannot provide any information or opinion.”
According to a statement on the FAC’s website, the Stanton Foundation grant will be used to pay the organization’s fundamental running expenses for five years.
Tags:Vinson & Elkins
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