Florida’s education rules list Holocaust denial and critical race theory (“CRT”) as “theories that distort the past.” This is not a fair comparison. Holocaust denial laws and CRT bans are analytically distinguishable. Holocaust denial laws were originally intended to fight hate, and this is the only reason they might be legitimate today. By contrast, CRT bans, for all their well-meaning language about protecting children from race-based accusations of guilt, intend to silence the past. Indeed, the CRT bans are uncannily similar to the laws used in Turkey to ban discussion of the Armenian Genocide in schools. While one might reject both sets of bans on free speech grounds, when the focus shifts from criminal law to educational policy there is world of difference between countering hate speech by restricting Holocaust denial in the classroom and the silencing of history by CRT bans.
Are Holocaust Denial Laws and Critical Race Theory Bans the Same?
Updated: Oct 17
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