CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
House Resolution
No. 22
Introduced by Assembly Member Gallagher
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chen, Choi, Fong, Lackey, Mathis, and Obernolte)
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March 12, 2019 |
Relative to the dismissal of University of California, Davis Professor Joshua Clover.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HR 22, as introduced, Gallagher.
Digest Key
WHEREAS, For years, University of California, Davis Professor Joshua Clover made comments advocating for the killing of peace officers; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, Professor Clover tweeted statements, including that he is “thankful that every living cop will one day be dead” and that “it’s easier to shoot cops when their backs are turned”; and
WHEREAS, In a 2015 interview, Professor Clover stated that “people think cops need to be reformed. They need to be killed”; and
WHEREAS, These comments are abhorrent and completely unacceptable, and have no place in our campus communities or anywhere else in society; and
WHEREAS, Peace officers put their lives on the line daily for the sake of the public’s safety and liberty, and the murder of peace officers is a crime against all of society; and
WHEREAS, Remarks made by Professor Clover endanger the lives of all peace officers; and
WHEREAS, On January 10, 2019, 22-year-old Officer Natalie Corona was senselessly gunned down while working an accident scene in downtown Davis; and
WHEREAS, When asked about Officer Corona’s death and his previous statements, Professor Clover refused to recant his comments advocating for violence against peace officers; and
WHEREAS, Incitements to violence are not protected speech under the First Amendment and the First Amendment does not entitle a person to teach impressionable students at a taxpayer-supported university; and
WHEREAS, Parents, students, and taxpayers deserve to know that UC classrooms are not platforms for advocacy of the murder of peace officers; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California,That the Assembly of the State of California supports free speech and the right of professors and students to express different ideas and engage in constructive dialogue in an environment that is free from violence and intimidation, but violent rhetoric that endangers individuals or a group of people should not be tolerated; and be it further
Resolved,That the Assembly urges University of California, Davis Chancellor Gary S. May, University of California President Janet Napolitano, and the Regents of the University of California to remove Professor Joshua Clover from the classroom and terminate his employment at the University; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.