This version is very straightforward. Unfortunately, this is not the version passed by the House. This is the Senate version which was intended to protect medical and other researchers from fears of physical terrorism. This is also the version that some in the scientific community got behind.

But this bill took a wrong turn when it went through the House. There it got manhandled and mangled and became a freedom of speech nightmare.

Now the two versions must be reconciled and I hope that the original Senate supporters will make a point of returning the bill to its’ original purpose.

Thanks again for barking!

“(e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.–Nothing in this section shall be construed–
“(1) to prohibit any expressive conduct (including peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstration) protected from legal prohibition by the First Amendment to the Constitution;
“(2) to create new remedies for interference with activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of the First Amendment to the Constitution, regardless of the point of view expressed, or to limit any existing legal remedies for such interference; or
“(3) to provide exclusive criminal penalties or civil remedies with respect to the conduct prohibited by this action, or to preempt State or local laws that may provide such penalties or remedies.”.

My main concern is that the forces behind this bill REALLY WANT the House version and will try to make sure it gets completed before the lame duck session ends. Of course, we can then encourage the new Congress to put it down but with everything else they have on their plates I don’t know how long that could take.

I would definitely encourage everyone to take this bill very seriously and not assume that someone else will handle it.

She assured me that:

HERE’S THE REALLY IMPORTANT PART
I am an original cosponsor of this legislation,
which the Senate passed with an amendment by
unanimous consent. This amendment clarified that the
substantive offense created by the bill requires proof of
intentional damage to real or personal property, not
simply a loss of profits, and also eliminated the
misdemeanor of physical obstruction of animal
enterprises. All First Amendment-protected activities,
such as picketing, lawful protests and boycotts, and other
peaceful demonstrations, are now exempted from the
bill’s coverage. The final bill that the Senate-passed
would clearly protect the actions of law-abiding
protesters, while distinguishing and appropriately
penalizing the criminal activities of extremists.

Now whether or not the amendment was included and approved by the House I don’t know. But it would be worth looking into before assuming a worst case scenario. Jack brought up some really good points in the other thread about how difficult it is for many of us to understand the legal terminology when it comes down to reading the actual text of a bill… So still contact your congress people and ask for explainations that you want to make sure your first amendment rights were upheld as this bill was passed.

Please contact your representative and senators about this. It really can make a difference!