I've heard people across both reddit and HN claim that this violates 1st, 5th, 9th, and 14th Amendments, as well as Article IV of the Constitution.
The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.
Article IV (Privileges and Immunities Clause): The Constitution's Article IV, which protects the rights of citizens in different states, has been interpreted as including the right to free movement between states.
Fifth Amendment (Due Process Clause): The Fifth Amendment's guarantee of liberty without being deprived of it without due process of law has also been cited by the Supreme Court as a basis for the right to travel, including international travel.
Ninth Amendment: This amendment protects certain fundamental rights not explicitly listed in the Constitution, including the right to travel.
14th Amendment (Equal Protection Clause): In Shapiro v. Thompson (1969), the Supreme Court recognized the right to travel as a fundamental right under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which ensures equal treatment regardless of residency.
But I guess what really matters at the end of the day is what a judge interprets those laws to mean.
I've never heard of this outlet before. Does anyone know about them (who owns them, if they have typical journalistic standards, etc.)? I typically check these things when I come across a news site that I was not previously aware of, especially when the content relates to contentious topics.
Looks like the key language is the definition of "material support". [1] It appears not to include speech (though "training" could fall into this camp), and there is also a First Amendment carveout just below the definition.
I wonder if this would have legs in the current Congress. Probably depends on how popular the other parts of the bill are (I have no idea what it's about, but I saw there's lots of other stuff in there).
It's quite a twist of events. While some people, notably immigrants and foreign visitors, are being kept out, some people apparently are (would be) getting kept in.
It's an unusual form of punishment. Not prison or money or community service, or ban from performing actions or duties, like with most crimes. No - you cannot leave the country. I can't think of any other crime for which this is the ultimate punishment (it can be a temporary one, but usually just to make sure people don't run away before a final judgment is made).
And I suppose for this to make any sense, this must apply only to actions that fall short of incitement to violence or terrorism - because for those you go to o prison. It must be things that, applied to not-Israel, are not crimes at all - else the law would be redundant. So I'm picturing something like, someone attensing a peaceful pro-Palestinian rally, and being told they cannot leave the country. Maybe even less, since people are already being prosecuted for that, with existing laws.
Most punishments involve some element of separating the perpetrator from the society. States pay money for prisons to keep criminals away, people are banned from professions where they screwed up. But here people are forced, at the expense of the US budget, to remain in the US among Americans.
This is one of many signs that manufacturing of consent doesn't work anymore. In the absence of such acquiescence from the people, western governments are resorting more and more to active and violent repression of voices outside the allowed "mainstream consensus".
First they did it to foreign nationals, now they're turning the same weapons against their own citizens.
Elected representatives frequently introduce bills that have no chance of passing or being considered. This proposed legislation is only to gain points with the electorate: "I introduced a bill to ban/promote XYZ but it was killed by the other side". It's red-cape waving. I would like to come up with a name for this behavior but I'm trying to restrict my use of bad language and negative thinking.
> A US congressman is introducing a bill that could potentially be used to deny US citizens the right to travel based solely on their speech, including for criticism of Israel, the Intercept reported on 13 September.
I'm pretty suspicious of the outlet, but even if it was the New York Times, no one should pay attention to this bill until there's some strong indication it may actually pass. Bonkers bills get introduced all the time and go nowhere. If you get worked up over them, you're wasting your energy.
This bill is obviously unethical, and furthermore appears to be illegal under the supreme court ruling Kent v. Dulles, which establishes the right to international travel (and thus a passport) a liberty that cannot be deprived without due process of law. So there would at least have to be a criminal hearing of some kind, unless the Supreme Court were to go back on this ruling (not impossible).
ADL and AIPAC must be registered as foreign agents and closely monitored. They interfere in usa politics and elections much more than war criminal Putin ever did.
20 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 39.8 ms ] threadThe First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.
Article IV (Privileges and Immunities Clause): The Constitution's Article IV, which protects the rights of citizens in different states, has been interpreted as including the right to free movement between states.
Fifth Amendment (Due Process Clause): The Fifth Amendment's guarantee of liberty without being deprived of it without due process of law has also been cited by the Supreme Court as a basis for the right to travel, including international travel.
Ninth Amendment: This amendment protects certain fundamental rights not explicitly listed in the Constitution, including the right to travel.
14th Amendment (Equal Protection Clause): In Shapiro v. Thompson (1969), the Supreme Court recognized the right to travel as a fundamental right under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which ensures equal treatment regardless of residency.
But I guess what really matters at the end of the day is what a judge interprets those laws to mean.
I wonder if this would have legs in the current Congress. Probably depends on how popular the other parts of the bill are (I have no idea what it's about, but I saw there's lots of other stuff in there).
1: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5300...
Passport revocation of W.E.B. DuBois https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/when-civil-rights-were...
Passport revocation of William L. Patterson https://depts.washington.edu/moves/CRC_genocide.shtml
It's an unusual form of punishment. Not prison or money or community service, or ban from performing actions or duties, like with most crimes. No - you cannot leave the country. I can't think of any other crime for which this is the ultimate punishment (it can be a temporary one, but usually just to make sure people don't run away before a final judgment is made).
And I suppose for this to make any sense, this must apply only to actions that fall short of incitement to violence or terrorism - because for those you go to o prison. It must be things that, applied to not-Israel, are not crimes at all - else the law would be redundant. So I'm picturing something like, someone attensing a peaceful pro-Palestinian rally, and being told they cannot leave the country. Maybe even less, since people are already being prosecuted for that, with existing laws.
Most punishments involve some element of separating the perpetrator from the society. States pay money for prisons to keep criminals away, people are banned from professions where they screwed up. But here people are forced, at the expense of the US budget, to remain in the US among Americans.
First they did it to foreign nationals, now they're turning the same weapons against their own citizens.
I'm pretty suspicious of the outlet, but even if it was the New York Times, no one should pay attention to this bill until there's some strong indication it may actually pass. Bonkers bills get introduced all the time and go nowhere. If you get worked up over them, you're wasting your energy.