Friday, January 14, 2011

The Constitution Protects Incendiary Speech

So says the ACLU:

Banning crosshairs and other imagery in political literature would violate free-speech rights, an ACLU official said Thursday.

The comments from a senior official with the American Civil Liberties Union came in response to a proposal from a Democratic lawmaker to make it illegal to publish literature like the ‘crosshairs’ map Sarah Palin’s PAC published for the 2010 election.
. . . “Under the First Amendment I don't see how you can prevent people from using advertising allusions,” said Macleod-Ball, referring to the use of a bull’s-eyes or crosshair for campaign purposes. “I do not see how you could draw up a statute that would restrict the use of a riflescope or a bull's-eye in a publication.“
Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) told Fox News on Sunday that he will introduce a law that will make it a federal crime to publish images like the ‘crosshairs’ map. Brady made the comments after six people were gunned down in a shooting in Arizona that targeted Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).