Gingrich calls for reexamination of first amendment

By Michael Fraase

Wednesday, 29 November 2006 08:47PM CST

Section: Censorship

Newt GingrichOn Monday, former Speaker of the House and presumed 2008 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich told a New Hampshire first amendment awards banquet that the US will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech because of the threat of terrorism. According to Riley Yates account in the Union Leader Gingrich told his audience that “a ‘different set of rules’ may be needed to reduce terrorists’ ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message. ‘We need to get ahead of the curve before we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade,’ said Gingrich.”

But Gingrich didn’t stop there. According to Yates, Gingrich criticized campaign finance laws as restricting free speech and “said court rulings over separation of church and state have hurt citizens’ ability to express themselves and their faith.”

In Gingrich’s world, all religious speech would be suppressed except for his, which would be mandated. And the money is speech horse should have been dead and shredded into dog food and glue long ago.

Gingrich’s position is alarming and I’m hearing it more and more from elected representatives and the US citizenry. Free speech is a cornerstone of a representative democracy and the growing willingness to “reexamine” it is extremely disturbing.

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