You Either Support and Defend Free Speech, Or You Don't

In 1798, less than  a full decade after the ratification of the Constitution and just eight years after the Bill of Rights, the President of the United States, signed into law  the Sedition Act of 1798. It was, simply put, one of the most egregious and appalling laws ever passed by the Congress of the United States, signed by a  President AND it was upheld by the Supreme Court. It was proof of almost everything that the anti-Federalists had predicted. It nearly severed the nation. It was born from mass hysteria and bruised ego. You might hope that cooler heads prevailed and the law was repealed. It wasn't. Parts of the original law are still on our books today. It has been used to silence dissent over and over again. And lest you think that there is no way that any politicians today would dare do the same thing again, we bring you news from Florida, where a GOP State Senator has proposed a bill that, once again, seeks to abridge the freedom of speech and of the  press. Why? Because he  doesn't like "gray areas..." when it comes to government approved speech...