No, only terrorist threats are illegal.BusyTarpDuster2017 said:So, only terrorist threats are real, and all others are just "abstract" concepts??Frank Galvin said:The First Amendment protects against censorship.BusyTarpDuster2017 said:If I won't do well in law school, then that's more likely an indictment of law school, to be frank.Frank Galvin said:You won't do well in law schoool. It is the government's burden to demonstrate why speech is not protected; the speaker does not have to show why it is protected.BusyTarpDuster2017 said:You're deflecting. Do you see why your argument is wrong? Imminency is a factor in determining if speech qualifies as "terroristic" in the state of Texas, but it is NOT a factor in determining whether or not that speech should be protected, which is what you argued.Frank Galvin said:The presumption is all speech is protected. It is removed from protection for specifc reasons: libel/slander; public safety; national security; safety and liberty of others.BusyTarpDuster2017 said:Speech doesn't have to qualify as a "terroristic threat" under Texas statute in order to be considered unprotected.Frank Galvin said:Verbatim from the Texas terroristic threat statute:BusyTarpDuster2017 said:"Death to America" is not imminent action and the students are not going to cause imminent action."Frank Galvin said:By that I think you mean could the government succesfully prosecute the students for making a terrisitc threat? Doubtful. "Death to America" is not imminent action and the students are not going to cause imminent action.Malbec said:If HAMAS is a designated terrorist organization by the U.S. (and since 1997), and protestors say, "We are HAMAS!" while chanting "Death to America!," would that be simply 'free speech'?Frank Galvin said:BusyTarpDuster2017 said:You leftists really do live in your own reality, don't you?Frank Galvin said:
Also, this thread is not big on free speech. What is the difference between the First and Second Amendments?
No, free speech is pretty basic to American reality.
If they said burn the federal courthouse that more specfic statement is going to be more actionable. If they said burn the federal courthouse while stockpiling kerosene or publishing diagrams, defintitely yes.
Again the First Amendment exists to protect offensive political speech.
You don't know that, nor can you expect anyone else to downplay the threat to your level. And it doesn't even have to be "imminent" in order to be considered a violent threat.
"threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person … with intent to place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury."
Why should we remove Death to America from the protections of the First Amendment. What is the legal rationale?
If you are saying that Death to America speech is not protected because it is a terroristic threat then you have to prove it is a terrostic threat; imminent harm is an essential part of that proof. If you are saying death to America is not protected for some other reason, tell me what that reason is.
Regardless, you don't have to be able to do well in law school to know logical BS when you see it. You are making a strawman argument, saying "If you are saying that 'Death to America' is not protected because it is a terroristic threat". No, I never narrowed it that way. I only said that it can be a violent threat:
- all terrorist threats are violent threats;
- but not all violent threats are terrorist threats;
- any violent threat is not protected speech
The government censors by making speech criminal through a statute.
The question will always be whether the criminal statute censoring the speech is unconstitutional because of the First Amendment. To decide that issue you have to use the words of the statute. That is what I did. The statute is about terroristic threats and requires intent and ability to cause imminent harm.
"Violent threat" is just a made up, abstract concept. It is not a statute and therefore not a means of censorship. It has nothing to do wihth the analysis at all.