The same statement noted that “as a public university, UC Davis is dedicated to the First Amendment” but made it clear that “allowing registered student groups to use campus facilities does not constitute an endorsement by the university of the event, the speakers or the views expressed.”

The UC Davis LGBTQIA Resource Center also released a dramatic statement on Facebook in anticipation of the event, suggesting Gaines’ speech would “lead[] to transphobic violence” and providing several links to mental health and counseling services.

“My argument is based in lived experience,” Gaines told The Federalist. “It’s based in common sense, it’s based in logic and reasoning and science and fact, and their side of the argument is based in feeling. It’s very emotionally driven. It’s based in a false perception and so that’s why I believe these protesters respond with the name calling that they do, they respond with the vitriol and the violence the way that they do.”

[Translation: UC Davis is NOT “dedicated to the First Amendment.” They don’t have the first foggy clue what dedication to free speech looks like. I’ll have more on the cause of that in the next headline post. — Ed]