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NRA gains ground in effort to destroy free speech.
Cross-posted from GD
The murder-apologists are at it again. A new Gag rule for gun control. Because 38,000 gun homicides a year aren't enough, the gun nuts seek to see more are killed.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Fresh off a series of legislative victories across the country, the National Rifle Association has launched a new effort starting in gun-friendly Kansas seeking to clamp down on the use of government money to lobby on gun-control issues.
While it's not clear how the law would be enforced considering it includes no penalties for violators, critics argue the measure threatens to stifle debate and give the state government far more control over a local government's message.
For instance, would university presidents – now confronted with a new Kansas law to allow concealed-carry weapons on campuses – be able to travel on university time and salary to argue against the rule? Or, could a government agency even print a pamphlet about gun safety without running afoul of the law?
"It does raise these questions about one side or the other becoming so dominant that it can close off opposing views," said Gene Policinski, senior vice president for the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, based at Vanderbilt University.
The Kansas law that takes effect next month also prohibits the use of state dollars for "publicity or propaganda," distributing materials or advertising. Although it imposes the same restrictions on both sides of the debate, gun-rights advocates pressed so much for it in the recently concluded legislative session that it was known inside the Statehouse as "the NRA bill."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/05/nra-kansas-gun-control_n_3393363.html
While it's not clear how the law would be enforced considering it includes no penalties for violators, critics argue the measure threatens to stifle debate and give the state government far more control over a local government's message.
For instance, would university presidents – now confronted with a new Kansas law to allow concealed-carry weapons on campuses – be able to travel on university time and salary to argue against the rule? Or, could a government agency even print a pamphlet about gun safety without running afoul of the law?
"It does raise these questions about one side or the other becoming so dominant that it can close off opposing views," said Gene Policinski, senior vice president for the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, based at Vanderbilt University.
The Kansas law that takes effect next month also prohibits the use of state dollars for "publicity or propaganda," distributing materials or advertising. Although it imposes the same restrictions on both sides of the debate, gun-rights advocates pressed so much for it in the recently concluded legislative session that it was known inside the Statehouse as "the NRA bill."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/05/nra-kansas-gun-control_n_3393363.html