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Originally Posted by latinasojourn
true.
it is also illegal for someone to shout "FIRE" in a crowded theater in most parts of the civilized world.
and the prohibition is reasonable, understood by reasonable people.
government exists to control the unreasonable, the fools of society.
reasonable people need minimal government.
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It's the SHOUTING of the word fire that's the problem. You can mutter fire all you want in a theatre, and it's no one's goddamn business. But if you shout it, the likely result is panic that could result in injuries or death, and that's why a prohibition against verbal incitements of that sort exists.
Obviously, from her comments, Mary Beth Buchanan is trying to make a similar argument, that this sort of writing "also emboldens sex offenders who would target children." But just think about that for a second, in the context of any thought, idea or suggestion that someone might decide to act upon. We are making the thoughts of a speaker responsible for the behavior of another. In the case of yelling "fire," the shouted word is the behavior. If I tell you to yell fire and you do it, I don't get prosecuted, you do!
No, this is the thought police in action, and all first amendment attorneys are going to be alarmed by the fed's decision to try to drag this country back in time by prosecuting written expression that we all here agree is disgusting.
Scary times, indeed.