Over objections about infringing on First Amendment rights, a divided House has approved legislation that would outlaw “encampments” on college and university campuses.

The 41-17 vote Monday came on legislation crafted by Rep. Alma Hernandez who told colleagues about incidents from last year’s pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests.

The issue, said the Tucson Democrat, who is Jewish, is not about the ability to protest, but that what was occurring crossed the line.

“We just want to make sure that individuals are able to go to class without being harassed — without having to take alternate routes just because there are individuals who do not want them to exist,” she  said. “Nothing in the First Amendment protects an encampment.”

Hernandez said she speaks from experience.

“I, first-hand, have experienced it,” she told colleagues. “And I, first-hand, have seen what goes on on our college campuses.”

Her measure drew support from Rep. Teresa Martinez.

“There’s an antisemitism feeling running through this country,” said the Casa Grande Republican. “It needs to stop.”

And Martinez said this isn’t just some grassroots, spontaneous reaction to Israel invading Gaza in the wake of the 2023 attack by Hamas that left about 1,200 civilians dead and resulted in 251 individuals being taken hostage.

“These encampments are very well funded,” she said. “They have pop-up tents, they have pizza delivered, they have all kinds of things going on across campuses.”

More to the point, Martinez told other lawmakers that they need to support the Jewish community “at all costs” — and to do it for very personal reasons.

“Next, it’ll be a different community: African Americans, Hispanics,” she said. “If we don’t take a stand and support our brothers and sisters of Jewish persuasion, then no one else will.”

But Rep. Anna Abeytia said she can’t see putting limits on protests.

“As an activist at heart, this is not a good bill for those of us who are activists and do go out and protest,” said the Phoenix Democrat.

“Encampments are a form of sit-ins,” she said. “And sit-ins have a long history, particularly in the Chicano culture.”

And Phoenix Democrat Quantá Crews said she fears how the proposal could be used to quash other protests.

“There are young people who are not trying to intimidate other people … who are not trying to provide a fearful environment,” she said. And, Crews said, it would be one thing if the legislation was needed to give police more power to deal with those who intimidate others.

This, she said, is overly broad.

“I feel like it could be weaponized against different groups that are not intending to harm other students and are just trying to exercise their First Amendment right,” Crews said.

Rep. Alexander Kolodin, who is also Jewish, said he was originally planning to vote for the measure, but changed his mind after finding “a flaw in the bill.”

The Scottsdale Republican noted the bill defines an “encampment” as “a temporary shelter, including tents, that is installed on the campus of a university or community college and that is used to stay on the campus overnight or for a prolonged period of time.”

What that would include, he said, is a shade and table set up by a conservative group, like Turning Point USA, while it works to register voters on the campus. Ditto, Kolodin said, of “pro-life organizations when they’re handing out literature.”

And he made no secret of his belief that enforcement will end up being based on who is affected.

“Let’s not fool ourselves about who runs these universities,” Kolodin said.

“Is this bill really going to be used against Students for Justice in Palestine? Probably not,” he said. “Is it going to get used against Turning Point and pro-life organizations? Far more likely.”

Kolodin wasn’t the only one troubled by the wording.

Mesa Republican Justin Olson said he doesn’t believe that Hernandez intends to ban campus setups like those used by groups registering voters or handing out literature, even if they do set up a tent or similar structure to shield them from the elements.

What is “ambiguous,” he said, is what constitutes “a prolonged period of time.” And that, said Olson, should be addressed when the measure now goes to the Senate.

Hernandez, for her part, doesn’t believe her legislation needs further work.

“In regards to ‘prolonged,’ I don’t understand where the confusion is,” she told Capitol Media Services after the vote.

“The encampments on campus refused to leave until the university met the ridiculous list of demands,” Hernandez said of what she saw at the University of Arizona when Students Against Apartheid set up camp last April on the Tucson campus.

That list included divesting from companies profiting from the war between Israel and Hamas, halting surveillance of student organizers, publicly condemning “Israel’s genocidal campaign” and defunding the U of A police department.

“These people had no intention of leaving.”

It ended when police moved in with pepper balls and rubber bullets and arrested some of those involved.

The senator also said it was quite obvious that this wasn’t some temporary event.

“People brought in couches and furniture in an attempt to stay there overnight,” she said.

“Our universities are not campground sites,” Hernandez continued. “They are educational institutions and should be treated as such, not trashed or vandalized.”