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by: JD Heyes That is, they wanted to specifically protect speech that wasn\u2019t common, wasn\u2019t popular, and could even be considered revolutionary in a literal sense of the world.<\/p>\n They also had protecting criticism of the government uppermost in their minds. That\u2019s because they had just spent more than a decade fighting a tyrannical British monarchy headed by a king that did not permit such speech and in fact, punished those who criticized him and the Crown in general.<\/p>\n But in recent decades, so-called \u201chate speech\u201d laws have made a mockery of the First Amendment\u2019s speech protections. Words and phrases that political apparatchiks and authoritarians in government have \u2018deemed\u2019 as \u2018harmful\u2019 or \u2018hurtful\u2019 have been criminalized under such laws, with real consequences for people found to have violated those speech codes.<\/p>\n Now, a state judge in Michigan has taken the insanity a step further: He has crossed into\u00a0the realm of insanity<\/a>\u00a0with a ruling that can only be described as antithetical to our founders\u2019 vision of free speech.<\/p>\n Big League Politics<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that hurting a liberal\u2019s feelings can be considered a terrorist threat and punishable by up to 20 years in prison, which has prompted a response from activists and lawmakers concerned about the grave implications this ruling may have on the 1st Amendment. \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n This appeals court ruling is pertaining to the case of 20-year-old Lucas Gerhard, a former Lake Superior State University student who was jailed for 83 days because a liberal classmate was triggered by a picture of a rifle he posted on social media. The court of appeals ruled that it did not matter that the hyper-emotional leftist who went to authorities was not intended to receive the photo. This may give the green light for liberals to report social media posts to authorities and compel terrorism charges in the state.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cImportantly, the issue is not whether defendant actually made a threat of terrorism, which would be a question for the trier of fact. Rather, the issue is whether, on these facts, defendant can be charged at all. The issue before us turns on whether a social media post made by defendant can constitute a \u2018true threat,\u2019\u201d the court of appeals wrote in a\u00a0ruling that literally threatens the freedom of every single independent thinking conservative and libertarian in the state.<\/p>\n Earlier, Big League Politics reported that Gerhard posted a picture to Snapchat of him holding an AR-15 \u2014 that\u2019s it, nothing more. He didn\u2019t threaten anyone and he didn\u2019t \u2018direct\u2019 his Snap at the person who was, pardon the pun, \u2018triggered\u2019 by the photo.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking this bad boy up. This ought to make the snowflakes melt \u2014 and I mean snowflakes as in snow,\u201d Gerhard wrote after he purchased the rifle.<\/p>\n So this ruling is obscene. It\u2019s beyond absurd. And now, as usual, a Republican lawmaker is trying to fix the situation; state Rep.\u00a0John Reilly (R-Lake Orion) is preparing legislation that will deal with this issue and return the First Amendment to its proper status in Michigan.<\/p>\n Other free speech advocates are hopping on board, too.<\/p>\n \u201cLast Friday, the Michigan Court of Appeals effectively revoked the First Amendment protection of every citizen of Michigan when it declared that your speech could be considered a criminal felony \u2013 based not upon the content of your speech, but on how\u00a0anyone<\/em>, including any left-wing lunatic, chooses to interpret it,\u201d noted\u00a0Adam de Angeli of the Rescue Michigan Coalition.<\/p>\n \u201cBy judicial decree\u00a0the Constitutional rights<\/a>\u00a0of all Michiganders are in serious danger,\u201d added\u00a0Rosanne Ponkowski, President of the Michigan Conservative Coalition. \u201cProsecutors can declare \u2018open season\u2019 on anybody whose speech they disagree with. This is unconstitutional, immoral, and extremely dangerous in today\u2019s toxic political environment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a time when our courts and political leaders would vigorously defend the right of free speech, including speech they disagree with,\u201d she continued.\u00a0 \u201cIt is time to stand up for the rights of every Michigander to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Sources include:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n(Natural News<\/a>) When our founders wrote the First Amendment\u2019s free speech clause, they had\u00a0unpopular<\/em>\u00a0speech in mind.<\/p>\n