Outrageous peaceful protest bill infringes upon the First Amendment

Ever since the ratification of the Bill of Rights on Dec. 15, 1791, Americans have enjoyed the freedom to assemble peacefully and lawfully. Despite this precedent, the government is undermining this basic Constitutional right of the people by outlawing peaceful protests under certain circumstances.

On Feb. 27, the House of Representatives passed the “Trespass Bill,” or H.R. 347. The bill makes it illegal to assemble peacefully without permission in an area where government officials protected by the Secret Service are present. Peaceful assembly is also made illegal at any building or area where an event is taking place of national significance.

It is little consolation that the House passed the bill with a sweeping majority; the vote was 388-3 in favor of the bill, indicating a severe lack of understanding of politicians about civil rights.

On March 8, President Obama signed the Trespass Bill into law, officially making it illegal to protest in the presence of government officials.

H.R. 347 is supported by the government since it is seen as a way to ensure the security of its officials by protecting them from protesters. Despite their access to the Secret Service and the previous existence of stringent security precautions, officials still find it necessary to encroach upon the First Amendment.

H.R. 347 is completely unnecessary and will only create further friction between the government and peaceful protesters. Government officials may require significant protection from the Secret Service, but the right to assemble is a key component in the framework of the Constitution and the Framers understood that it was one of the safeguards against despotism.

As demonstrated by the actions of the opponents of the Occupy movement, the government already has the power to break up protests and silence protesters by using the police force.

People who are arrested under the law will be fined and given up to a year in prison. If the person is carrying a potentially dangerous weapon, the person could receive up to 10 years in prison, regardless of whether the person was brandishing the item in a threatening manner.

One of the dumbest parts of the law is that a protester’s prison sentence could be increased by tenfold if the protester happened to be carrying a Swiss army knife or any other type of object that could be seen as having the potential to cause bodily harm. A plethora of items can be seen as potentially dangerous, such as a lit cigarette or a sharpened pencil.

Government attempts to silence the people have been throughout our nation’s history. Examples include the Sedition Act of 1798, which made it illegal to print inflammatory opinions toward the government. More recent government attempts were proposed SOPA and PIPA Bills, which would allow the government to remove websites from the Internet that contain copyrighted material without permission.

Now that President Obama has signed this bill into law, the government has even more power to arrest protesters. The last hope is that the Supreme Court has the wisdom to rule this law unconstitutional in the future.