HR 1966 The Cyberbully Act: A Further Attack on the First Amendment

What are the chances that your blog has hurt someone’s feelings or angered someone? Most of us who blog frequently see in the comments that often when our views don’t match with someone else’s views, they often let it be known in a variety of ways. Now, without even knowing you, you may be held accountable under HR1966, the Cyberbully Law if someone visits your blog or Web site, and your words cause substantial emotional distress. You may find the government knocking on your door.

I was glad to hear Rush Limbaugh talk about the Obama police state today. That’s what the United States with all of these laws designed to protect the weak and morally grotesque in society. We need to focus on the idea America is becoming a police state. We need to use the words police state with these laws.

The Cyberbully Law’s origins are St. Louis, MO, most specifically a case where Lori Drew drove a 13-year-old Megan Meier to suicide because of internet harassment. What if the wrong persons reads your blog and report your right to free speech as something that harmed them emotionally? Under the HR1966, you may be arrested and held accountable.

Most of us don’t write to hurt anyone. We make points using valid arguments that often involved people who have exposed their stories in some form of media. Say the wrong thing about the person who opened themselves up possible criticism by appearing on the news, and you could end up with charges against you if HR1966 passes.

Consider the language:

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….

["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; …

["Electronic means"] means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including email, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones, and text messages.

So who’s going to interpret a writer’s state of mind when they write a blog, and what does it mean to repeat? Once is okay, but if you write a follow up are you guilty?

This reminds me of what the Michael Savage situation. You simply speak your mind anymore and you always have to face the governmental consequences. This is clearly another attack on the First Amendment. I don’t support what Lori Drew did. It was quite childish, but in not way did it warrant such a radical bill to be placed in front of a Congress, especially a Congress who justifies their behavior consistently by trying to protect us.

Soon it will be a crime to attack a pedophile who you may catch violating a child thanks to HR1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Then if you write anything warning your neighbors the pedophile lives in the neighborhood and you continue to remind people, you are damned by the government again.

What if someone owes you money, and you continually call them or e-mail them. Will a threat to take them to court be considered a threat that can cause emotional distress? You better hope a gay, necrophiliac pedophile who enjoys bestiality on the side never owes you money. You will really be in a predicament.

Consider how dangerous these laws are to the First Amendment. They are purposely written in this broad language in order to eventually hush those that aren’t going along with what the government considers the status quo. In other words, they are designed not only to silence the real predators, they are designed to hush up political language that is not compliant with the party in power, and let’s not forget the Democrats plan to be in power for a very long time according to James Carville.

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Originally Published at Bungalow Bill’s Conservative Wisdom

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