The Scalia Law School

 

George Mason University Law School is considering naming itself after the late Justice Scalia. Scalia is well regarded in the law but so was Bork. So we are being treated to a debate over the merit--not of the man's legal qualities--but of the man. It is quite astonishing how the culture demands open-mindedness on so many topics. We are soon to purge "felon" and "convict" from our usage. But some social targets remain: The bully in school, some religious groups that feel the right to be exclusive. And, of course, the one victimless crime: political conservatism. Here is an excerpt from an article in the WSJ by one Lloyd Cohen, a GMU law professor where he describes a meeting at George Mason University of the school faculty on the suggestion of the law school being named for Scalia. Keep in mind, these are teachers and lawyers:

As a member of the faculty senate, I attended this meeting and took the opportunity to defend the late justice from scurrilous and defamatory statements made against him by some of my fellow senators. They claim that the late justice made derogatory comments pertaining to race, gender and sexual orientation. In my own speech, I noted that they cited no specific examples despite Justice Scalia’s 30 years on the bench, and I read from his most-recent dissent, in the Obergefell v. Hodges case on same-sex marriage. Much to my surprise, several of my faculty colleagues interrupted me by calling for me to be prevented from speaking, a sad commentary on their tolerance for open debate and intellectual inquiry.
Despite the utter lack of evidence, the faculty senate swiftly moved forward with a nonbinding resolution condemning the renaming on the grounds that it would fail to create “a comfortable home for individuals with a variety of viewpoints.”