Slashdot | Michigan May Outlaw Anonymity Online

[Bill Stewart]

At 06:48 PM 2/11/01 -0800, Alan Olsen wrote:
>> http://slashdot.org/yro/01/02/11/1829225.shtml
>There are times when I wish I had enough money to hire the lawyers it
>would take to initiate a false advertising suit against the United States
>for billing itself as a "Free country". 

Remember that this isn't a law - it's a proposal by one cop.
In a free country, you always expect at least one cop or politician
to have some offensive or wacko idea that makes the press -
the real questions are how far can he run with it,
does his electorate throw him out on his ear next election,
can he convince the legislature to act on his proposal,
and do the courts throw the law out if it gets made.

With the label "Child Pornography" attached to the proposal,
any legislators who understand it and want to block it 
have to walk carefully, but the old "refer it to the committee on
whatever and let it get boring things attached to it and studies done
until everybody lets it die" trick is usually safe,
especially if it can get reviewed by the committee's counsel
in the light of existing court cases like McIntyre.
				Thanks! 
					Bill
Bill Stewart, bill.stewart at pobox.com
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