HR 347

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."


These are some of the first words written in the United States Bill of Rights and the first amendment to our Constitution.  Yet, under the Obama administration, a bill, titled HR 347, essentially stating that public protest in the vicinity of any restricted area as designated by the Secret Service, was passed into law.  This law gives the Secret Service power to push all protesters far away from any official/event/area and arrest any protesters they see fit.  People arrested under this law will see punishments of up to 10 years in prison.  Now, I don't know about you, but this definitely seems like a violation of the first amendment.  One of the main ways we voice are grievances in this country, and have since day one, is through organized protest.  This law intends to keep the protesters so far away from government officials that this method will be rendered useless.  No longer can protesters show up at campaign speeches or political rallies to voice their opinions.  This law insulates our politicians from any difference of opinion outside of the government.  This is but one in a long line of steps the government has taken in recent years to silence and ignore the public, allowing them to pass legislation based on personal gain and gain to their party, rather than gain for America.  It is also part of the ongoing campaign to undermine the Constitution and destroy the sacred laws that have governed us since our first days as a nation.  What gives our elected officials the right to mute us?  They are taking away one of the only methods of change we have.  No less, this law was passed through congress UNCONTESTED!  Unanimously, with the notable exception of 3 congressmen/women, every representative we have voted this into law.  In my opinion, this alone should necessitate a clean sweep of congress with new officials elected immediately.  We have a right to be heard, as written by our founding fathers, and no politician has the right to silence us.  In addition to all of this, the law was amended to delete the word "willingly" from "willingly and knowingly" in regards to how one can break it.  In other words, you could have no idea you are committing a crime and be arrested anyway.  The Secret Service can suddenly designate a restricted area and, without informing anyone within that area, immediately make arrests.  This is a blatant overuse of power and wreaks of fascism.  If you give a damn about this country, please spread the news of this infringement on our rights.  This country is slowly being turned upside down by greed and corruption.


Read the bill here:


http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c112:7:./temp/~c112rdGK21::