On April 21, our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom announced that Dr. Allan Josephson, their client, had agreed to a settlement of $1.6 million from the University of Louisville in his First Amendment free speech claim against the university. While we are thankful that justice prevailed, we are disappointed that UofL wasted large amounts of taxpayer dollars fighting an unconstitutional battle against Dr. Josephson.
The situation leading to the lawsuit began when Dr. Josephson correctly expressed concerns over gender “transitions” on minors back in 2014. In 2017, Dr. Josephson spoke at a Heritage Foundation event on the dangers of performing gender “transitions” on kids. He spoke at this event in his personal capacity, not as a member of UofL faculty. Shortly after speaking at the event, university employees started to retaliate against Dr. Josephson because of his expressed views.
The director of the LGBT center at Louisville emailed the dean of the medical school and complained about Dr. Josephson’s speech. The email led to further discussions amongst the medical school faculty, which eventually resulted in a plan to target Dr. Josephson. In 2017, the medical school dean pressured Dr. Josephson to step down from a leadership role in his department. However, that was not the end of the retaliation. In 2019, the medical school declined to renew Dr. Josephson’s contract, effectively firing him.
UofL’s settlement finally ends Dr. Josephson’s legal drama and provides restitution for his injuries. However, this situation has exposed a constitutional issue at one of Kentucky’s leading public universities. Those who express unpopular opinions at UofL are at risk of being targeted for their beliefs. Public universities should encourage the open exchange of ideas and must not censor conservative or religious viewpoints.
In 2026, the General Assembly should use this situation as an opportunity to strengthen protections for free speech at our public universities. The Family Foundation was instrumental in the passage of the Campus Free Speech Protection Act (HB 254) from Rep. Savannah Maddox (R-Dry Ridge) in 2019. While that law greatly improved free speech protections on college campuses, it did not solve all the issues, as evidenced by Dr. Josephson’s situation. Unfortunately, more recent efforts to pass stronger legislation have gotten little movement in the legislative process. We urge the General Assembly to ensure the free exchange of ideas is properly protected on public campuses in Kentucky by updating and strengthening the Campus Free Speech Protection Act.
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