Students at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California are having their First Amendment rights trampled on by school administrators. Students from OCC's Young Americans for Freedom chapter on Wednesday were tabling during a student recruitment fair. The goal was simple: to attract new members to the conservative student organization.
Part of the students' booth display included a pro-Second Amendment flag that said "Don't Tread On Me" and "2nd Amendment Since 1789." But because two silhouettes of rifles appeared on the flag, administrators approached the students during the recruitment fair and demanded it be taken down.
According to the two university officials, the flag violated school policy AP 3530, which prohibits “firearms, knives, explosives or other dangerous objects” and any “facsimile of a firearm." University officials said the flag fell under the "facsimile of a firearm" aspect of the school policy.
The students, however, disagree with the decision.
“We displayed this flag to express our support for the Second Amendment. It is completely outrageous that the college would censor our freedom of expression to display the image of a firearm. It is very un-American of the administration to prohibit us from displaying our Constitutional right,” said Benjamin Keene, the Chapter Chair of the Orange Coast College Young Americans for Freedom.
Young America Foundation's spokesman, Spencer Brown, said this is an example of students' Second Amendment rights being censored.
“The intent behind the school’s policy is to promote the physical safety of students on campus,” Brown said. “School administrators are manipulating school policy to censor students’ support of the Second Amendment.”
Orange Coast College did not immediately respond to Townhall's request for comment.
This is the flag that's being called into question:
Editor's Note: The headline was updated to reflect the name of the organization.