New bill banning the web?

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Amendment 1

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.

When the first amendment was composed shortly after the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789, the idea of an electronic Internet would have been beyond the dreams of even the most revolutionary thinkers. But as Alexander Hamilton set a precedent, that sometimes the Constitution needs to be "elastic" in order to adapt to a changing world/economy/technology.

Although I may be just a high school student, it would seem that the medium by which speech is carried out should be protected under the First Amendment. Whether it is in person, via telephone, or via the Internet, having the right to say what one wants without fear of censorship by the government is the basis of freedom of speech.

This bill is just an ill-conceived, under thought-out, and disillusioned attempt at curbing the amount of predators on the Internet. This bill would deny most of the population of Chief Delphi the "freedom of the post", and I believe that many of the students here on Chief Delphi actually make meaningful posts that contribute something back to the community.

Now is our time to act. Let us not be casual observers any longer; it is now time to fulfill our Constitutional duty and responsibility as citizens of this democracy and take action. Democracy is never guaranteed, but always a constant struggle to protect our natural and civil rights.

We have the power to shape the future of our country, all we need to do is start somewhere. Anywhere. Write letters to your congressmen/women and Senators. Write editorials into your newspapers. Blog about this somewhere. Talk to your friends. Start a protest or a rally. Experience democracy and engage in its full potential. This is the government of the people, by the people, for the people. Let's make it so.

“It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness. „ _{-Old Proverb}

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

When the first amendment was composed shortly after the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789, the idea of an electronic Internet would have been beyond the dreams of even the most revolutionary thinkers. But as Alexander Hamilton set a precedent, that sometimes the Constitution needs to be "elastic" in order to adapt to a changing world/economy/technology.

Aye, but good 'ol Thomas Jefferson begged to differ.

This bill was also brought up in the MySpace thread. It does NOT ban any of these sites in any way. It bans minors from accessing sites that "commercial social networking websites and chat rooms that have been shown to allow sexual predators easy access to personal information of, and contact with, children." ChiefDelphi, for instance, is in no danger.
"The language of the bill, however, may still be modified before it is formally voted upon. "It still has to go through a tough markup process," Jeff Urbanchuk, Fitsgerald's press secretary, told PC Magazine. "It's only 72 hours old, you know." "

You may lose your MySpace, or Livejournal until you're 18, but big whoop. If it cuts down on sexual predators, I'm all for it.