Please block attacks on freedom of speech.
Whereas, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution clearly states: “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”;
Whereas, members of Congress are recently on record saying they want to re-impose the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” on U.S. broadcasters, or else accomplish the same goal of censoring talk radio by other means, and thereby establish government and quasi-government watchdogs as the arbiters of “fairness” rather than the free and open marketplace of ideas;
Whereas, the U.S. experimented with the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” for 38 years — from 1949 through 1987 — during which time it was repeatedly used by presidents and other political leaders to muzzle dissent and criticism;
Whereas, the abandonment of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” in 1987, thanks to President Ronald Reagan, resulted in an unprecedented explosion of new and diverse voices and political speech that revitalized the AM radio band and provided Americans with a multitude of alternative viewpoints;
Whereas, it is a wholly un-American idea that government should be the watchdog of the press and a policeman of speech, as opposed to the uniquely American ideal of a free people and a free press being the vigilant watchdogs of government;
Whereas, the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” — either under that name, or using a new name and even more devious methods — represents a frontal assault on the First Amendment, and its re-imposition would constitute nothing more nor less than the crippling of America’s robust, unfettered, free press:
I, the undersigned, assert my rights as a citizen of California in demanding that Congress immediately drop all legislative efforts to re-impose the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” whether on printed media, TV, radio, or the Internet, and that the president of the United States veto any so-called “Fairness Doctrine” legislation approved by Congress and that the U.S. Supreme Court overturn as unconstitutional any so-called “Fairness Doctrine” legislation approved by Congress and signed by the resident.
Sincerely,
