Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims a new American Bar Association rule violates lawyer’s free speech rights in making it “professional misconduct” to engage in behavior that “is harassment or discrimination on the basis of … sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or socioeconomic status in conduct.” Paxton says the rule limits speech on important social and political issues and “has caused fear in attorneys all over Texas who have faith in God.” (Courthouse News Service, December 21, 2016, by David Lee)
UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, The Washington Post, December 20, 2016, agrees with Paxton’s position on free speech. “[Say] that some lawyers put on a Continuing Legal Education event that included a debate on same-sex marriage,” writes Volokh, “or on whether there should be limits on immigration from Muslim countries, or on whether people should be allowed to use the bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity rather than their biological sex. In the process, unsurprisingly, the debater on one side says something critical of gays, Muslims or transgender people. Under the Rule, the debater could well be disciplined by the state bar.”