Obama Signed New Federal Law Policing Protests

A bill passed Monday, February 27, 2012 in the US House of Representatives and Thursday, March 1, 2012 in the Senate would expand existing anti-protest laws that make it a felony—a serious criminal offense punishable by a lengthy prison term—to “enter or remain in” an area designated as “restricted.”

The bill—H.R. 347, or the “Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011”—was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, while only Ron Paul and two other Republicans voted against the bill in the House of Representatives (the bill passed 388-3). Not a single Democratic politician voted against the bill. 

The virtually unanimous support in Congress for H.R. 347, among Democrats as well as Republicans, reflects an overriding sentiment within the ruling establishment for curtailing existing democratic rights and moving toward dictatorial methods of rule.

The President can also direct the Secret Service to protect whoever he chooses like an advisor or manager. Possibly due to the safety issues related to the Occupy Protests and with unruly crowd demonstrations at private homes, a new Federal Law cedes Speech Freedoms to the discretion of the Secret Service.

What constitutes an event of “national significance” is left to the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security. The occasion for virtually any large protest could be designated by the Department of Homeland Security as an event of “national significance,” making any demonstrations in the vicinity illegal. For certain, included among such events would be the Democratic and Republican National conventions, which have been classified as National Special Security Events (NSSE), a category created under the Clinton administration.

The Secret Service now can arrest you for demonstrating anywhere they determine is off-limits, charge you with a felony and fine and incarcerate you for up to a year or more. This is a slow, creeping destruction of our basic Right to Free Speech.

Here is a vintage Wall Street Journal article on Free Speech - One thing has not changed - Liberal virtues.

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