Free Speech

The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

A few months back Congress passed (and Obama signed into law) H.R. 347. On the surface this bill seems to be just a tweaking of previous bills. When we look a little closer, it just might be more than a little tweak. H.R. 347 makes it a Federal felony to protest anywhere the Secret Service might be protecting anyone. This includes things like Olympic events, the World Series and the Super Bowl. Of course it also includes places members of Congress are visiting, anywhere the President or Vice President are and the Supreme Court. This bill makes it far easier for the government to criminalize protest.

The people who believe they warrant protest, can now shield themselves from protestors because instead of a designated area for protestors, the exclusion zones have no natural or spatial boundaries, they can be as large as law enforcement chooses, and they can move based on the whim of those in charge.

While this bill isn't the death of Free Speech, it is most certainly an infringement by Congress. The Free Speech clause was never meant to insulate government officials from protest, in fact the exact opposite is true. The Free Speech clause was meant to protect the speech of those who would protest in front of our government officials.

There have been slow, incremental encroachments on this right since Title 18 was passed in 1971. This country has a history of protecting political protests, but that protection is slowly being eroded. this type of encroachment on our rights will never end until We The People stand up and use the power of our vote to put people in office that are dedicated to protecting and upholding our rights.