Throughout his career, former Congressman Justin Amash has been a strong advocate for freedom of speech, writing that “The value of free speech comes from encountering views that are unorthodox, uncommon, or unaccepted…Free speech is a barren concept if people are limited to expressing views already widely held.”
In this special live episode, filmed in front of 200+ high schoolers attending FIRE’s Free Speech Forum at American University in Washington, D.C., Amash takes questions from the audience and discusses his upbringing, his political career, the state of American politics, and how the Constitution guided his work in Congress.
Earlier this year, Congressman Amash joined FIRE’s Advisory Council.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
03:30 Upbringing
06:21 Law school
13:15 Time in Congress
15:59 Why Amash publicly explained each of his votes
26:30 On being the first libertarian in Congress
30:57 Connection between his principles and free speech
33:10 Trump’s first impeachment
42:48 Dealing with pushback from constituents
46:03 Term limits for members of Congress?
55:25 How high schoolers can pursue a career in politics
59:45 Has there been a regression in First Amendment protections?
01:07:32 What Amash is up to now
01:08:06 Outro
Read the transcript here: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-podcast-transcript-justin-amash
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