Letter to the editor: Recent federal law will deny free speech

There is a new federal law on the books that we should all be aware of because it directly affects our freedom of speech. When proposed, it was called the Trespassing Bill. Its HR 347, the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, voted for it.

The law makes it a federal crime to exercise your right of free speech in any area the Secret Service designates as a no speech zone. Our country was founded on free speech ideals, and this goes against the grain of what it means to be an American, to say we cant stand on a street corner to protest against anything we choose the color of the sky, the Giants winning the Superbowl, the policies of our elected officials and so forth.

As for the Secret Services designation, how the heck would anyone be able to figure that out? Isnt the very nature of their work secret? It reminds me of the scene from the movie Animal House, where fraternity members are placed on double-secret probation by the headmaster. Only in our case, the penalty is not expulsion from school, but incarceration as a felon.

KIMBERLY GILBERT Putnam

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Letter to the editor: Recent federal law will deny free speech