Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
Today the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), PEN America, and the ACLU of Florida (ACLU-FL) condemned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s veto of the entirety of the state’s annual arts budget, because the governor stated the decision was based on his distaste for certain types of artistic expression. In particular, the governor mentioned cultural programs like Fringe Theater Festivals as examples of “inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars,” even though they stood to receive a small fraction of a percent of the total public arts budget.
Government officials’ use of the budget to silence speech they personally dislike raises acute First Amendment concerns. While government officials may decide to revoke arts funding for an array of reasons, they may not do so as a means to muzzle specific viewpoints.
Read NCAC’s full Statement here:
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