I always believed that I would be able to teach my children that they were lucky to live in a great and wonderful country where they could express their opinions without fear of retribution. Coming within one vote of losing that is terribly unnerving.
And make no mistake about it, this Amendment would effectively end free speech in America. Once you start saying that you only have the right to express your opinion if your opinion is not objectionable you have abandoned the central principle behind free speech and gutted the First Amendment.
We are the greatest country on Earth. But we are not great because we have the best flag, as aesthetically pleasing as the stars and stripes may be. We are great because we are free, and because our freedoms are protected in our founding documents and cannot be abridged. To use these founding documents as a political plaything and wantonly erode our basic rights is intolerable.
I could not have said it better myself.
Thank you, as you can tell I feel quite strongly about this vote.
