For fun, I thought I would compare some of our student speech codes here at USU to this controversial new law. Predictably, the Student Code grants a right to publish and “freedom from censorship”. But this appears to be in tension with some other statements. For instance, the Housing Handbook Residential Support Principle 04-05 requires that you “respect the dignity of all persons by not demeaning, teasing, ridiculing, or insulting individuals or groups.”

So it appears that students living in university housing are already living under a “law” that is more restrictive than the Irish blasphemy law (not “demeaning” or “teasing” or “ridiculing” seems stricter than the Irish rejection of “grossly abusive or insulting” utterances).

Of course, it is worth noting that there are some good reasons for college campuses having stricter speech codes than the law of the land generally, though it is always a delicate balance. But be careful, SHAFTers!