Ep. 247: Justin Amash

Throughout his career, former Congressman Justin Amash has been a strong advocate for freedom of speech, writing that "The value of free speech comes from encountering views that are unorthodox, uncommon, or unaccepted…Free speech is a barren concept if people are limited to expressing views already widely held."

In this special live episode, filmed in front of 200+ high schoolers attending FIRE's Free Speech Forum at American University in Washington, D.C., Amash takes questions from the audience and discusses his upbringing, his political career, the state of American politics, and how the Constitution guided his work in Congress.

Earlier this year, Congressman Amash joined FIRE's Advisory Council.

Timestamps:

00:00Intro

03:30Upbringing

06:21Law school

13:15Time in Congress

15:59Why Amash publicly explained each of his votes

26:30On being the first libertarian in Congress

30:57Connection between his principles and free speech

33:10Trump's first impeachment

42:48Dealing with pushback from constituents

46:03Term limits for members of Congress?

55:25How high schoolers can pursue a career in politics

59:45Has there been a regression in First Amendment protections?

01:07:32What Amash is up to now

01:08:06Outro

Read the transcript here: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-podcast-transcript-justin-amash

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