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Thomas Lucente: Free speech under fire in Ohio
Lima News ^ | September 22, 2013 | THOMAS J. LUCENTE Jr.

Posted on 09/23/2013 8:57:43 AM PDT by Deadeye Division

Seems simple enough: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

It’s right there in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. And while the amendment originally only applied to the federal government, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the 1931 case of Near v. Minnesota, ruled that the 14th Amendment “incorporates” the First Amendment, i.e., makes it applicable to the states.

The importance of the right to free speech cannot be stressed enough. It is, without a doubt, the bedrock of a free people. Or, as Thomas Jefferson put it, “A democracy cannot be both ignorant and free.” Nearly two centuries later, Justice William O. Douglas reiterated the amendment’s importance in the pantheon of human rights: “Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.”

Yet, amazingly, governments still try to control the speech of the people.

Take, for example, the case of Edmund Corsi, a political activist and conservative blogger in Ohio’s Geauga County who also happens to be a cousin to author, WND (formerly WorldNetDaily) columnist and noted birther Jerome Corsi, who wrote “Unfit for Command,” and “The Obama Nation.”

Edmund Corsi runs a website called the Geauga Constitutional Council (http://j.mp/1gBlB7i). He also holds get-togethers with other activists, distributes fliers critical of politicians, and holds events featuring conservative speakers.

While Corsi is a conservative, he has had no problem bashing Republicans as well as Democrats. Because of this, he angered the head of the local Republican Party, Edward Ryder, who Corsi labeled a RINO, a Republican In Name Only.

In 2009, Corsi published a pamphlet that included praise and criticism of some candidates for political office and distributed it from a booth he hosted at the Geauga County Fair.

Ryder took that opportunity to file a complaint against Corsi, claiming that Corsi’s blog was really a political action committee and his pamphlet lacked the requisite disclaimer and that he had failed to file financial reports with the state. He based his argument on the fact that the pamphlet used the word we instead of I, which implies an organization, not an individual.

In 2011, The Ohio Elections Commission agreed and ruled that Corsi should have registered as a political action committee if he wanted to speak out — defying the First Amendment and Supreme Court precedent in the process.

Essentially, what the commission said was that Ohioans who wish to speak out on political candidates and political issues must register with the government. That would certainly put a chill on free speech. In 2012, an Ohio appellate court agreed with the commission and the Ohio Supreme Court took the courageous stand (sarcasm) of declining to hear the case.

If this seems to fly in the face of the words from the First Amendment quoted above, that’s because it does.

The First Amendment was meant to protect, above all else, political speech. History tells us that and the U.S. Supreme Court has on many occasions since the amendment was enacted Dec. 15, 1791, reminded us of that fact. Under Supreme Court rulings, political speech must be afforded the highest level of protection.

As the Supreme Court put it in the 1966 case of Mills v. Alabama, “There is practically universal agreement that a major purpose of that Amendment was to protect the free discussion of governmental affairs … of course includ[ing] discussions of candidates.”

Hopefully, the Supreme Court will take this opportunity to reiterate that fact. The case of Corsi v. Ohio Elections Commission is set for conference Sept. 30 and the court will likely announce Oct. 7 whether it will take the case.

It is imperative that the court reiterate that public officials should not be permitted to use the force of law to silence those who express a political opinion. Ohio’s law concerning what constitutes a PAC must be ruled unconstitutional if it suppresses political opposition, which it clearly does.

It would be a sad day, indeed, when a blogger or other political activist can be silenced by the state under the color of law.

.

Thomas J. Lucente Jr. is licensed to practice law in the state of Ohio. He is a veteran of the Iraq war, has a bachelor’s degree in history and a law degree from the University of Toledo. He has been published in newspapers, magazines and websites across the country. He can be heard on “Talk with Ron Williams” on WCIT-AM at 3 p.m. Thursdays (listen at http://940wcit.com). Readers may write to him at The Lima News, 3515 Elida Road, Lima, Ohio 45807-1538, or e-mail him at tlucente@limanews.com. His telephone number is 800-686-9924, ext. 2095, or 419-993-2095. Visit his blog at http://www.lucente.org. Follow him on Twitter at http://tho.lu/twitter, Google Plus at http://tho.lu/google, and Facebook at http://tho.lu/facebook.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 09/23/2013 8:57:43 AM PDT by Deadeye Division
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To: Deadeye Division

This is easy: Host the blog outside of Ohio.


2 posted on 09/23/2013 9:18:55 AM PDT by MeganC (A gun is like a parachute. If you need one, and don't have one, you'll never need one again.)
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To: Deadeye Division

This is what we get from the Republican Party (DNC lite)

The same party that is trying to destroy Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and ASSISTING Obama in destroying what’s left of our health care freedom.


3 posted on 09/23/2013 9:34:27 AM PDT by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s.....you weren't really there)
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To: MeganC
... and his pamphlet lacked the requisite disclaimer and that he had failed to file financial reports with the state. He based his argument on the fact that the pamphlet used the word we instead of I, which implies an organization, not an individual.

This was printed matter, not a blog............

4 posted on 09/23/2013 10:07:43 AM PDT by Red Badger (It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong. .....Voltaire)
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To: Red Badger

Oh, I stand corrected. Thank you.


5 posted on 09/23/2013 11:02:38 AM PDT by MeganC (A gun is like a parachute. If you need one, and don't have one, you'll never need one again.)
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To: MeganC

Seems to me that the ‘rino’ just outed himself as a ‘RINO’ BY HIS ACTIONS............


6 posted on 09/23/2013 11:03:51 AM PDT by Red Badger (It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong. .....Voltaire)
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To: Deadeye Division
We have NATIONALLY banned Free Speech; you can't use the "N" word, under penalty of "Hate Crime", etc.

How is the "N" word not protected by "Free Speech"?

7 posted on 09/23/2013 2:00:19 PM PDT by traditional1 (Amerika.....Providing public housing for the Mulatto Messiah)
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