The moral and practical case against speech controls
Is this bill necessary or good? After all…
Most of us loathe prejudice, bigotry, and racism.
But most of us probably want to know who the bigots are in our lives. That way we can persuade them to change. Maybe we feel compelled to shun them.
We lose our ability to do either thing when The State forces bigots to hide in the dark.
Censorship has been increasing
Tax-funded educational institutions have allowed mobs to silence unpopular speakers.
Legislatures have prohibited supposed hate speech.
Politicians have sometimes delegated the task of defining hate speech to bureaucrats or the courts.
These actions violate freedom of speech and freedom of association. But Agenda Setters by Downsize DC has another "lever" in our toolkit…
We focused on the constitutional principle called "separation of powers." Congress was never permitted to delegate its legislative authority to the executive or judicial branches.
Yet things have just gotten worse! A large bi-partisan majority in the House of Representatives has passed a bill that goes one terrible step further!
U.S. House hands legislative power to a private organization
The Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 seeks to control and punish anti-semitic speech in schools. And…
Some analysts think it might even impact platforms like YouTube.
Even worse, the bill permits anti-semitism to be defined by an NGO (non-governmental organization) called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
The IHRA definition of anti-semitism will be imposed on the Department of Education. It is already used by the State Department.
What if the IHRA changes its definition?
And what if Congress doesn't review and approve the change? What if State, Education, or even additional cabinet departments embrace the new definition?
This is a question of representation…
Congress should not have the power to delegate its legislative authority to bureaucracies or NGOs!
And, as I have pointed out many times before…
The power you give a politician you love, to do something you want, is a power that will be used tomorrow, by a politician you loathe, to do something you hate.
What can we do about this?
Do not give legislative power to a private organization!
We created a cure for this problem called the Write the Laws Act (WTLA), introduced in the Senate by Rand Paul (S. 329). This bill…
- Requires every bureaucratic regulation to be read and voted up or down by Congress.
- Makes regulations promulgated in violation of the WTLA requirements to be unenforceable in court… Including definitions created by NGOs (such as the IHRA) that are enforced by agencies such as the Departments of State and Education.
Please join The 300 in your congressional district to get your local rep to co-sponsor WTLA!
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