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Creationist Speaker Barred From College Campus as 'Tolerant' LGBT Group Complains

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In another example of free speech being denied on a university campus, Ken Ham, the founder of the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter attractions, has been told his speaking engagement at University of Central Oklahoma next month has been canceled.

Ham was informed of the cancellation even though he had received an invitation to speak from the UCO student government and had a contract with the university.

Ham was to make his presentation titled "Genesis and the State of the Culture" on the UCO campus in a building ironically named 'Constitution Hall.'  A campus LGBT group objected and pressured the Student Association and university officials to cancel the March 5th appearance.

In his proposed talk at UCO, Ham would have discussed the two different world views and their starting points when interpreting scientific evidence, as he did in his evolution/creation debate with Bill Nye "The Science Guy" four years ago. 

"Free speech in America is under increasing attack by some very intolerant people. In this case of discrimination, I find it highly ironic that after being booked to speak in the school's Constitution Hall, our constitutional right to free speech and the free exercise of religion, guaranteed under the First Amendment, have been denied," Ham said in a press release. 

"A small but vocal group on campus put up a fuss about my talk and the university caved in, tearing up the contract and contradicting its policies of promoting 'free inquiry' and 'inclusiveness' on campus," Ham continued in the press release. 

Paul Blair, pastor of the Fairview Baptist in Edmond, who worked through a campus group to arrange to have Ham appear on the UCO campus, will now host the free lecture at his church on March 5.

"It's another case where the First Amendment seems to exist everywhere except on college campuses," Blair declared on the Answers in Genesis website. "According to its Campus Expression Policy, UCO is committed to 'fostering a learning environment where free inquiry and expression are encouraged'. But apparently, that only applies to speech that echoes specific beliefs. The irony is, the groups promoting 'tolerance' are the most intolerant forces on campus."

Ham is president and founder of Answers in Genesis (AiG), an apologetics (i.e., Bible-defending) ministry based in northern Kentucky, near Cincinnati. In 2016, AiG opened the Ark Encounter, a one-of-a-kind Christian themed attraction with a massive Noah's Ark in Williamstown, Ky., which draws up to 8,000 guests in a day. 

The Creation Museum, located west of the Cincinnati Airport, has welcomed well over 3.5 million visitors and has proved to be a major family attraction in the Midwest. 

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