CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — What’s better: free hot dogs or free speech?
According to the folks at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the answer appears to be another question: Why not both?
FIRE kicked off a new, $3.2 million Chicago free speech campaign on Wednesday — which was National Hot Dog Day — by giving away 1,791 free Chicago dogs at Clark Street Dog.
“We’re here to talk free speech, give out free hot dogs,” said Connor Murnane, FIRE’s director of engagement and mobilization.
Murnane said FIRE specifically gave away 1,791 hot dogs to commemorate the year the First Amendment was ratified while highlighting the history of political activism in Chicago.
The First Amendment guaranteed freedom of speech, the press, assembly and the right to petition the government.
“You guys have such a deep history in civil rights activism and other political and social movements,” Murnane said. “You need to know that free speech got you there, and we want to keep seeing it happen in this great city.”
The “Free Chicago Dogs for Free Speech” event is part of FIRE’s larger expansion into Chicago to raise awareness and support for free speech. The citywide campaign will include $1.4 million in TV advertisements supporting free speech, radio ads, dozens of billboards and 100 posters.
“We’ve been around for 26 years, and in those 26 years we’ve never once commented on the content of any speech we’ve defended — only whether it’s protected by the Constitution,” said Murnane.
FIRE’s ads will run from July 10 to Aug. 6. They’ll include “Free Speech Around the World,” as well as the powerful stories of Keshia Thomas and KJ Lynum, both of whom have fought to resist censorship.
“Chicagoans know what it means to create and sustain a robust culture of free expression. We’re excited to celebrate that by giving away free Chicago dogs with a side of free speech — just hold the ketchup,” said Daniel Burnett, FIRE’s senior director of communications.
FIRE bills itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought.
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