CONGRESS, that would be we the people in the Senate and House of the United States Congress, that Congress:
SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF, OR ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS, OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES.
My fellow Americans, that is the bulwark, the bedrock of our Constitution, of our liberties and freedoms, the heart and soul of our very country. Without the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, there can be no America, the land of the brave and the free.
The keyword in that Amendment is the word:
ABRIDGING
That means no legislature, federal or state and by implication no judiciary federal or state can certainly not think in terms of abolishing freedom of speech or press. Nor says the First Amendment can legislatures change the wording, condition the freedoms, attempt to interpret those aggressive and clear words and most importantly, can not attempt to interpret such freedoms in light of contemporary society, its lifestyles and needs but only in terms of what the founding fathers intended. And that was the freedom of any American citizen to say anything they wanted anytime, anywhere. Time and again, the so-called progressives have tried their very to ABRIDGE. We the people can not let it happen.
But it does it seems happen over and again in the once great State of CALIFORNIA. There is little doubt that California is the most liberal, progressive, even radical state of all of the 50. The Sacramento legislature under the bizarre leader of Governor Jerry Brown does what it wants irrespective of the Constitution. Some of the laws it has passed have been illegal on their face and some purposefully unconstitutional. The latest example of such legislation reached the Supreme Court of the United States for interpretation, namely the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FAMILY AND LIFE ADVOCATES V. BECERRA. That legislation was a perfect example of California run amok and was a clear example of an outright attack on free speech, a brazen attempt by Brown and company to ABRIDGE the freedom of speech and press.
Under California’s so-called FACT ACT, licensed clinics that offered pregnancy services as an alternative to abortion were required to notify clients that California provided free or low cost abortions, and to provide a phone number for those providers. Can you believe that? The vast majority of solid Americans who listen to these stations are very much against abortion (I wish all were) including those who listen to the Crawford Broadcasting Company stations in the great State of California and they especially must have been shocked at the FACT ACT, clearly abridging the right of free speech for the licensed clinics that offered pregnancy services as an alternative to abortion. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, perhaps the most liberal in our country, affirmed the Act, the law on grounds that normal free speech protections did not apply because the statute regulated PROFESSIONAL SPEECH, whatever that is. Out the hat came that weak justification, any way possible for this Ninth Circuit Court to avoid the Constitution and allow ABRIDGMENT OF FREE SPEECH AND PRESS. It is hard for me to believe, not from California, how the millions of wonderful citizens of that great state could permit this Constitutional sabotage from Sacramento and allow an Act like this to become law. Thank God, the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FAMILY AND LIFE ADVOCATES did not.
After that bizarre ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court, of the case went to SCOTUS. And, rightfully so, the FACT ACT, that brazen attempt to promote abortion even among the non-abortionists was ruled unconstitutional. But only, sadly, by a bare majority. There was yet another 5-4 vote against the Act with the usual liberal justices voting in lock-step, namely Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan while the other five, thankfully, saw clearly First Amendment rights abuses and ABRIDGMENT and ruled against Becerra. Although the ruling is to be praised, it is a sad fact in America that there would have been an abridgment of our free speech rights and a precedent set for all of our state legislatures which could have opened Pandora’s Box for more, and even more abridgment from liberal-radical legislatures. We the people should give thanks to Justice Clarence Thomas who wrote the opinion, and Justices Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch and Kennedy for a right-thinking decision, a constitutionally correct conclusion.
Writing for the 5-4 majority, Justice Clarence Thomas says the law requires the services of the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FAMILY AND LIFE ADVOCATES to advertise abortion, “the very practice that petitioners are devoted to opposing.” This California law said Thomas compelled the services to provide a “government drafted script” and thus directly and materially violated their First Amendment rights. Amen Justice Clarence Thomas, Amen. It sure did.
Justice Thomas then dealt with the core issue of the Act, namely so-called “professional speech.” Thomas stated unequivocally in his opinion that speech does not lose its protection “merely because it is uttered by professionals.” Whatever the definition of professional, such speech is no different than any other when it comes to the protective rights of the First Amendment. In short, no state can dictate speech for any professionals or professional service providers, so says the First Amendment.
But there was another issue. The California licensing law was written so that it applies only to clinics that are opposed to ABORTION. Talk about direct ABRIDGMENT and rampant progressive bias. If that is the Sacramento directive to ABORTION ALTERNATVE AGENCIES, why not the very same directive to provide information about such services to all abortion clinics, requiring them to notify abortion seekers that alternative services are available! You can bet your Napa Valley bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that that would never, EVER happen in California. My fellow Americans, if this law had been held Constitutional, it would have opened the floodgates to free speech abridgment and you can be sure it would have indirectly affected freedom of religion, and religious establishments, i.e. churches as they proclaim the Gospel. That potential and hypothetical tragedy was prevented by only ONE VOTE.
This very week, Justice Anthony Kennedy resigns the Supreme Court. No one was a more ardent, aggressive defender of free speech than Kennedy. This good Justice was incensed that California had the audacity to single out ideas or speech with which it disagrees and with its radical legislation, attack their Constitutional rights. Kennedy stated the following:
“This law’s specific nature suggests a real possibility that these individuals were targeted because of their beliefs.”
Obviously they were. No state promotes abortion more widely or aggressively than the once great State of California. It seems determined to eradicate anything conservative and go its own way irrespective of the Constitution. In fact, there is strong thinking in California to even secede from the union, from the other 49 states and form its own nation. Or, in the alternative, to divide itself in three parts and function as three independent governmental agencies if not states. Many millions in the other 49 states might wish that would happen.
More from Justice Kennedy:
“The California legislature included in its official history the congratulatory statement that the Act was part of California’s legacy of forward thinking.”
The self-serving statement invoked the ire of Kennedy who stated in his concurring opinion:
“It is forward-thinking to begin by reading the First Amendment as ratified in 1791 to understand the history of authoritarian government as the founders then knew it.”
Of course, for California, that would be BACKWARD thinking, totally inconsistent with the elitist and progressive thinking which emanates from Sacramento and so many other local legislatures. ABRIDGING is a thing of the past, irrelevant some 230 years later.
Kennedy goes onto state:
“Freedom of speech secures freedom of thought and belief. This law imperils those liberties.”
If anything, an understatement in my opinion. The law does not imperil the freedoms. The FACT ACT, Becerra, Aggressively Attacks the freedom of speech of those who disagree with Sacramento, and ESPECIALLY ABORTION! One could conclude that once again, in a 5-4 majority vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy was the swing vote. That swing vote is now gone and the Supreme Court of the United States has eight Justices only, four of whom are liberal and four conservative. One can understand so clearly that the appointment of the Ninth Justice is absolutely critical to America and will affect our freedoms and our rights for years to come. Kavanaugh was a clerk for Justice Kennedy and believes every bit as strongly as his mentor in the protection of the freedoms and rights of free speech and press in the First Amendment as he did. The confirmation of Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court Justice is critical to prevent any such state legislation from happening again. Work for that and pray for that my fellow Americans. There will be no FACT ACT in California, but you can be certain that more legislation like this is yet to come.
In this era of post-truth, the attack on our Constitution and especially the First Amendment goes on. Those in power will do whatever they can do squelch DISFAVORED SPEECH. We see that sadly time and again on our college and university campuses. The mob rules, and the mob is progressive-radical, determined to do away with conservative speech wherever possible. It happens even now in churches, and especially the participation of churches and religious institutions in the public square. They are denied access, benefits and participation in some cases because of their religious beliefs, no matter the protections of the First Amendment. And I fear that so much more of that is yet to come. Unless, there is a conservative and Constitutional appointment of a Ninth Supreme Court Justice. It seems that is for sure the best if not the only hope for WE THE PEOPLE who believe in the Constitution and the rights and freedoms it offers. No more Becerra, no more FACT ACT, but no more Kennedy either. Conservatives won the battle, but we should hope and pray that Constitutionals do not lose the WAR, that is, the failure of the United States Senate to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh as Justice of the Supreme Court.
The Constitutional fight is on, the fight for the rights of free speech and religion heats up every day. I do hope and pray that you are in this fight and that you will do whatever is required to protect your rights and the rights of future Americans. There will be no more America without the First Amendment and there will be no more America if we the people tolerate any compromise,ANY COMPROMISE at all and allow any kind of:
ABRIDGING
Don’t let it happen my fellow Americans. Please don’t!