What an embarassment for the First Amendment

Typical government response to a small problem; shoot a squirrel with a cannon. Is there any doubt that these people have too much free time on their hands and no clue of what the role of government is.

Criminalizing Free Speech: HR 1966 Sec 881
Here it comes. Thought crime and hate crime legislation. No one can attest to the vile nature of internet harassment, threats and insults more than I can, but I would never silence my "critics". This law is unconstitutional, a blatant violation of the First Amendment. It destroys the basic tenets of the Constitution. The left is ripping it to shreds. You can view the bill here.
This represents the end of political blogging and free speech on the world wide web.If both bills are not opposed and thrown out then the First Amendment will become nothing more than a relic of a bygone age. (more here)
That this is even being proposed speaks volumes as to how far America has fallen. Here is the language in the bill:
a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
‘(b) As used in this section-
‘(1) the term ‘communication’ means the electronic transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user’s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received;
‘(2) the term ‘electronic means’ means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including email, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones, and text messages.’.
What this means? Recap here:
U.S. House of Representatives would make it a felony to offend someone online.A felony.Under this new law you would not just be slapped on the wrist and have to pay a fine.You would go to big boy prison.While most free speech activists have been watching the recent "hate crimes" bill, this much more insidious piece of legislation has received almost no notice whatsoever.Just take a look at what H.R. 1966 actually says.....Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.Whoa.So if you offend someone on Facebook you could go to federal prison for two years?Yup.If your blog insults someone and causes them to feel bad you could go to prison for two years?Yeppers.If you are in a bad mood one day and you send fire off an angry tweet on Twitter that you maybe should not have you could go to prison for two years over it?Yes indeed.Are you starting to get the picture yet?Talk about an attempt to chill free speech.So if someone reads something that you have written and it makes them feel bad they can take it to the feds and have them come get you?That is a very, very frightening thought.The reality is that the government is increasingly trying to control even the very small details of our lives. They are even increasingly trying to control what we say and what we think.Freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones of a free society. If we are not free to express ourselves without the fear that someone will be offended, then what freedom will we really have left?The reality is that if we do not stand up to this, the United States of America will quickly become overrun with politically-correct "commissars" who are eager to throw anyone who disagrees with them in jail for "hate crimes" and "thought crimes".
Let's all take a look and remember these sponsors and the author when the next election comes up:Rep. Linda Sánchez [D, CA-39]and 14 Co-Sponsors* Rep. Timothy Bishop [D, NY-1]* Rep. Bruce Braley [D, IA-1]* Rep. Lois Capps [D, CA-23]* Rep. William Clay [D, MO-1]* Rep. Joe Courtney [D, CT-2]* Rep. Danny Davis [D, IL-7]* Rep. Raul Grijalva [D, AZ-7]* Rep. Phil Hare [D, IL-17]* Rep. Brian Higgins [D, NY-27]* Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D, OH-9]* Rep. Mark Kirk [R, IL-10]* Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard [D, CA-34]* Rep. John Sarbanes [D, MD-3]* Rep. John Yarmuth [D, KY-3]

Posted by Pamela Geller on Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 11:15 AM in Free Speech Silenced Permalink