Saturday, April 28, 2012

Obama Bans Free Speech, No One Notices

President Obama recently signed into law a measure that effectively ends First Amendment protections for political speech.  The law says that it is now a felony to protest in the vicinity of anyone that is under Secret Service protection.

Given that the Secret Service protects a number of people, and that the President has the authority to grant protection to anyone at any time, this is a major limitation to free speech. 




The fact that this is a felony charge is outrageous.  

A felony conviction means:
  • You can never vote again for the rest of your life
  • You can never own a gun again for the rest of your life
  • You will have a felony on your record whenever you apply for a job
  • You will have 'one strike' down in states that have Three Strikes laws, potentially sending you to prison for the rest of your life.
  • Professional licenses such as lawyer, doctor, plumber, hairdresser can all be revoke due to felony convictions
In effect, your life is completely shattered by a felony conviction.

All because you happened to say something when the Secret Police Service are nearby.

This law has enormous potential for abuse. 

The enforcement of the law is at the discretion of the protectee.  This means that the President can order the arrest of his enemies, while tolerating the protests of his pals. 

When Joe Biden was booed at a parade last summer it was shrugged off as a sign of the general discontent of the people.  Today, the Secret Service can sweep into the crowd and arrest people for the thought-crime of booing the person that is under their protection.

When Michelle Obama got booed at a baseball game recently it was embarrassing for the First Lady.  Now she has the power to order the mass arrests of everyone in the stadium.

This is no different than the secret police in North Korea arresting people for the crime of not crying hard enough when the Dear Leader passed away.

I used to be optimistic that the Supreme Court would strike down nonsense like this. But the court has been very unreliable on matters of free speech.

The way the laws are interpreted currently, strippers and degenerate artists dunking things in urine enjoy unlimited First Amendment protections, but people taking out political ads and holding political protests are subject to arrest at any time.

We are standing by and watching the dismantling of America, the stripping of our Liberties, and the end of our way of life.












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