[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H11376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     REGARDING THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM

  (Mr. NADLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the First 
Amendment on a very important victory. A Federal court has ordered the 
mayor of the city of New York and his administration to end its 
campaign to evict the Brooklyn Museum from its facilities over an 
exhibit that he and some others found offensive.
  This was not a serious challenge for the First Amendment, because it 
is clear to even students of the most basic constitutional law class 
that this case had no merit and was brought for entirely political 
reasons, though every once in a while it is nice to reaffirm that the 
First Amendment is as strong as ever.
  Mr. Speaker, the Bill of Rights is clear, the government may not 
interfere with the free expression of anyone. What the mayor and his 
administration attempted to do was censorship, pure and simple. The 
mayor tried to impose his own cultural tastes on the museum, and tried 
to hold it hostage to his demands that a particular exhibition would be 
withdrawn.
  If he had been victorious, it could have had a real chilling effect. 
But the First Amendment is stronger than the whims of elected 
officials. It has won yet again. Quoting from the said Federal court 
decision, ``There is no Federal constitutional issue more grave than 
the effort by government officials to censor works of expression and to 
threaten the vitality of a major cultural institution as a punishment 
for failing to abide by governmental demands for orthodoxy.''
  This is a victory for the Brooklyn Museum, for the artistic 
community, a victory for the First Amendment, and for constitutional 
liberty.

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