Though he's been a vocal supporter of Israel and the Jewish community, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) said he's opposed to the so-called Antisemitism Awareness Act since it hampers free speech.
The House passed the bill on May 2 in hopes of quelling the rise in antisemitism and anti-Isreal protests related to the Middle-Eastern country's ongoing conflict against Hamas.
On Wednesday's episode of Alabama Unfiltered, Tuberville referred to the House bill as the "dumb, anti-First Amendment" act and explained how it was unconstitutional.
The relevant portion begins around the 5:55 mark.
"It went through the House for the right reasons, but I thought it had the wrong scenario on there," Tuberville said. "… It really blocks the First Amendment rights, and we have to go by the Constitution.
"I can understand why a lot of the congressmen would jump on this to make a statement. They know that it's not going to come to the floor in the Senate. Chuck Schumer is not going to give it the light of day."
Tuberville said he would oppose the bill if it came before the Senate for the same reason he doesn't fully support a ban on TikTok — it violates free speech.
"We need to control this ourselves, through our families, our parents… Once you start going after the First Amendment, you're going to slowly deteriorate and you're going to have reasons to go back and say, 'Look we did this Why can't we do that?'"
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