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Will Silver was blocked by the New York State Senate on Twitter after criticizing new gun control legislation.

by FIRE

ALBANY, N.Y., Aug. 18, 2022 The New York State Senate wants to hear from each and every citizen as it considers hundreds of bills each year. But if youre a New Yorker who criticizes the Senate on Twitter, you may find your account blocked and your tweet hidden.

Today, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression called on the New York State Senate to stop blocking Twitter critics and hiding their tweets. FIRE defends the speech rights of all Americans and, here, represents William Silver, who was among many blocked after criticizing new gun control legislation.

The First Amendment protects the pen, the press, and the pixel, said FIRE attorney Adam Steinbaugh. When state actors go online, the First Amendment follows.

Twitter users including the staff operating the New York State Senate account can hide replies to their threads and block people who replied, preventing them from seeing the accounts future tweets or interacting further. The New York State Senates official Twitter account frequently takes advantage of this feature, blocking or hiding criticism of legislation and legislators.

The Senates actions are unconstitutional. Courts across the country have recognized that when a government actor invites public comments on social media, the government actors regulation of that online speech is restrained by the First Amendment. In one notable case, a court found then-President Donald Trumps practice of blocking critics on Twitter violated the First Amendment.

The New York State Senate cannot hide tweets or block users based on their viewpoints, said Steinbaugh. In culling tweets and blocking users based on viewpoint, the New York State Senate undermines its own role in facilitating the democratic process and violates the Constitution.

In June, the United States Supreme Court struck down a New York statute requiring a license to carry a firearm outside of the home. In response, the state legislature met in an extraordinary session to consider new gun control legislation which it ultimately adopted.

Upset New Yorkers took to Twitter to express their frustration with the legislation, and the New York State Senate hid almost 90 tweets on the subject and blocked a multitude of users.

Today, FIRE sent a letter to the New York State Senate on behalf of Silver, who responded to a Senate tweet about the extraordinary session with a tweet of his own, repeating two words from the Second Amendment: Shall not. His account was then blocked and his tweet hidden.

While the Senate was considering legislation on an expedited basis, I thought it was important to voice my opinion while I had the opportunity, said Silver. Its concerning that the Senate would try to prevent me from doing that. We cant expect politicians to agree with us on every issue, but they also cant subvert the democratic process by hiding constituents publicly voiced concerns.

FIREs letter calls on the New York State Senate to unblock all users, unhide any tweets or Facebook comments, and agree not to block users or hide comments going forward. The letter also includes a public records request for information about who and what the New York State Senate has blocked, hidden, or filtered on its social media sites. (For more on how public institutions use blocking and filtering functions, see FIREs 2020 report.)

Legislatures should seek out the opinions of their constituents, not disappear them, said FIRE attorney Harrison Rosenthal. Our democracy depends on the ability of the public to share their views, but the New York State Senate is suppressing the views they dont like.

FIRE has given the Senate until Sept. 1 to respond to the letter.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

CONTACT:

Katie Kortepeter, Media Relations Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org

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The New York State Senate blocks critics on Twitter. That's unconstitutional and FIRE calls on the Senate to knock it off. - Foundation for...

A few days ago, an 80-year-old store business owner shot a robber who entered his store with a long rifle. The robber looks to be a young man who had maybe three other men with him waiting outside in a getaway car. The 80-year-old store owner shot this punk with a shotgun and the robber ran out of the store crying that his arm was shot off. Well, he was taken to the hospital by the other gang members, and all were arrested after the incident. This 80-year man used his Second Amendment rights to defend his life and his property.

Now, for those who want all guns taken away from law-abiding citizens, is this really the answer? Who knows what this robber would have done he could have just gone in and taken the money or taken the money and killed this man. This man is here today because of what he did and he did the right thing. With the way things are now, a punk gets arrested for whatever and gets out of jail before the ink is dry on the police report! This man did the right thing and is alive today to enjoy another day with his loving family.

Excerpt from:
Second Amendment allows man to see another day - Brunswick News

Muskets were the "assault weapons" of their day and yes, you have the right to own them.

Illinois governor JB Pritzker recently insinuated that the Second Amendment is obsolete because the Founding Fathers owned muskets. This is an insult to the intelligence of every American.

In the 18th century the citizen and the state were equally matched on the battlefield. Both fought with the same weapons. It was just a matter of who had more muskets and soldiers. This makes the musket the "assault weapons" of its day. The Second Amendment was not written to encourage the citizen to go to war with the state. Instead, it is the other way round to prevent the state from waging war on the citizen. Otherwise, the Second Amendment would only have protected those other methods of defense in the late 1700s: sabers, pistols and pitchforks.

The American citizen and U.S. government have not been equally matched with regards to weaponry since at least 1880. Nuclear weapons, submarines, F-22s, Reaper Drones, the state security apparatus and many other things make the modern state almost invincible. This actually presents new challenges to democracy and a clear danger for the citizen in our current era. Despite their reputation semi-automatic AR-15s don't stand a chance against these real weapons of war. But they still provide the material for the intent behind the Second Amendment: a deterrent against the state declaring war on the individual.

That fact should only worry tyrants.

DEAN CANNON

Sandpoint

Original post:
Muskets were 'assault weapons' of their day - Bonner County Daily Bee

SYRACUSE As many Republicans across the country jockey for one man's support, Steve Wells is taking an old-fashioned approach to winning a congressional seat: He is running on the issues that he believes matter to the 22nd Congressional District.

He criticizes President Joe Biden for his handling of the economy and high inflation issues he feels he is equipped to address given his business background. (He is a founding partner of American Food and Vending Corporation, a Syracuse-area company.) As a former prosecutor in Fort Worth, Texas, he says there needs to be action to address crime.

On issues from energy to gun rights, he sounds like the type of candidate Republicans would've had no problem nominating before 2016. He panned the Biden administration's energy policy and the push to quickly shift away from fossil fuels. While he does not oppose what he described as a "low carbon future," he thinks there needs to be a balance with existing energy sources, such as nuclear. On guns, he agrees that there should be efforts to combat gun violence. However, as a longtime licensed gun owner, he supports the Second Amendment.

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But times have changed. Former President Donald Trump is viewed by most within the GOP as the leader of the party. If you aren't for Trump, you are labeled a "RINO" (a Republican in name only) and may encounter an uphill battle to winning the GOP nomination.

Wells is far from an unabashed Trump supporter. He has been asked if he would Trump for president in 2024, but has avoided a direct answer to that question by saying he will support the Republican nominee, whomever it is. The answer is reminiscent of when U.S. Rep. John Katko, whom Wells is seeking to succeed in Congress, said in 2016 that he would support the GOP presidential nominee. After the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" video, Katko declined to support Trump for president. (He wrote in former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.) Katko endorsed Trump ahead of the 2020 election, but also voted to impeach him after the Jan 6. attack on the Capitol.

For Wells, he is reminded of what his father told him as a child. His father's advice was to "talk about ideas, don't talk about people."

"I've always focused on ideas," Wells said in an interview with The Citizen. "I'm happy to debate ideas. I'm happy to be criticized for ideas. I'm happy to examine ideas. But it's about ideas. At the end of the day, I'm going to talk about ideas, about what's actually happening, but only insofar as it helps us bring out what we need to do to fix them, to move forward."

Wells was a late entrant into the congressional race. After a court-appointed special master redrew New York's congressional district lines in May, the Cazenovia Republican decided to run for the 22nd district seat. The district includes all of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, plus a small portion of Oswego County. Wells quicklysecured the support of the GOP chairs in the new district.

There is one other Republican in the 22nd district race. Brandon Williams, who lives in the Cayuga County town of Sennett, is vying for the nomination. He has billed himself as the conservative candidate in the race he has been endorsed by the state Conservative Party.

Wells has largely avoided any joint appearances with his primary foe a fact Williams has mentioned during the campaign. He declined to participate in any televised debates. He has defended this decision by saying that his late entry into the race means he has to spend his time talking to voters. The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 23.

He has been attending events throughout the district and released a pair of TV ads highlighting the main issues he wants to talk about, namely crime and inflation. In one ad, he pledges to stand up to Biden.

"People have to feel safe to go shopping, to go to the grocery store. We don't have that environment right now," Wells said. "Why am I the best person? I have a quarter-century of starting and building a business. To handle the economy, I know exactly what needs to be done. Crime... I've seen what works and what doesn't work."

This is not Wells' first campaign for Congress. In 2016, after the late U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna decided to retire and not seek reelection, Wells sought the Republican nomination. He lost in the primary to Claudia Tenney, who is now serving her second nonconsecutive term in Congress.

Wells said he learned from that first bid and it's one reason why he thinks experience matters.

"I did learn a lot just by standing up here and speaking to people. Talking to people, you learn a lot. You really do," he said. "I feel like, no question, I'm a better candidate than I was before."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Read more from the original source:
Steve Wells hopes issue-focused campaign will get him elected to Congress - The Citizen

After the 2020 election, Americans were clear: they wanted a viable third political party.

In modern US history the country has been dominated by the Republican and Democratic parties almost to the exclusion of all others, effectively creating a near two-party monopoly on power in the White House, Congress and the state level.

Other parties, like the Reform party, the Greens or the Libertarians have never really broken through. In 2021, as the fallout from the 2020 election continued, polling showed widespread support among Americans for a fresh third party that would offer something different from the status quo. Even a majority of self-identified Republicans said they wanted a new party in the mix.

This should be prime ground, then, for the Forward party, founded in July by a group of self-defined centrists including the former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Republican New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman.

People wanted a new third party, and they have been given one one that has boasted of already raising more than $5m. So what are the chances of Yang and co winning office, and holding forth on the floors of the US Capitol?

Slim to none, says Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus of political science at Indiana University Bloomington. With an emphasis on none.

Third parties face resource problems, for one thing. Forwards $5m pales in comparison with the $1bn Joe Biden raised from donors during his 2020 election campaign.

Donald Trump raised $774m from donors, according to Open Secrets, while data from the Federal Election Commission shows that House and Senate candidates raised $4bn between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2020, spending $3.8bn.

The two dominant parties also have huge structural advantages: mailing lists, email addresses, existing supporters and name recognition, things that have taken decades to build.

A more fundamental issue is that the US election system just isnt set up to accommodate a third party.

The first-past-the-post system, in which one person is elected in each congressional district, means that a third party could, in theory, win 49% of the vote in a given area, and it would count for nothing if their opponent wins more.

Forward, which launched on 23 July, was formed from three existing political groups: Renew America Movement, made up of dozens of former Republican administration officials ; the Forward party, which was founded by Yang after his failed bid to become the Democratic partys nominee for New York City mayor; and the Serve America Movement, a centrist group of Democrats, Republicans and independents.

The rigid, top-down, one-size-fits-all platforms of the outdated political parties are drifting toward the fringes, making solutions impossible, Forwards website reads.

We stand for doing, not dividing. That means rejecting the far Left and far Right and pursuing common ground.

The partys mission: Not left. Not right. FORWARD, as its slogan lays out, is a noble one. But there are doubts about what a centrist party might actually look like and stand for.

There are a lot of people who would consider themselves moderate or centrist, who disagree very strongly with other people who consider themselves moderate or centrist. Its not one group, Hershey said.

The Forward party is yet to lay out a detailed platform. But once it does set out its positions on divisive issues like abortion, social security and tax cuts, Hershey said, some of that middle is going to disagree with other parts of that middle, and the so-called huge middle is no longer huge.

In a statement, the Forward party said it cant be pegged to the traditional left-right spectrum because we arent built like the existing parties.

The glue that holds us together is not rote ideology, it is a shared commitment to actually solving problems. The hunger for that simple but revolutionary kind of politics is immense.

In terms of how it will compete with Democrats and Republicans, the party said it isnt looking to drop a billion dollars in a 2024 presidential race.

Instead, it will focus on gaining ballot access and recruiting candidates to run in races across the country.

That takes money, Forward said. But more than money it takes people, and we are rich with them.

Forward is less than two weeks old, but has already attracted a good deal of both cynicism and criticism, not least for the false equivalency it deployed when describing the need for a third party.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post titled Most third parties have failed. Heres why ours wont, Yang, Whitman and David Jolly, another co-founder who was previously a Republican congressman from Florida and executive chairman of the Serve America Movement, appeared to offer disingenuous arguments for why their efforts were required.

On guns, Forward suggested that most Americans are rightfully worried by the far rights insistence on eliminating gun laws, but dont agree with calls from the far left to confiscate all guns and repeal the Second Amendment.

As Andrew Gawthorpe, a historian of the United States at Leiden University and host of the podcast America Explained, wrote in the Guardian:

These two things are not the same: the first is what is actually happening in America right now, whereas the second is a view that was attributed to Kamala Harris as part of a fabricated smear on Facebook and enjoys approximately zero support in the Democratic party.

Third parties can have an impact, said Bernard Tamas, associate professor of political science at Valdosta state university and author of The Demise and Rebirth of American Third Parties: Poised for Political Revival?. But theres usually a pretty specific formula.

Its always built on outrage, Tamas said. It has to be where the public is galvanized.

Tamas pointed to the Progressive party, founded in 1912. That party, led by former president Theodore Roosevelt, advocated for child labor laws and the establishment of improved working conditions, including and eight-hour working day and one days rest in seven for workers.

Roosevelt, who was shot during his campaign, won 27.4% of the vote, besting William Howard Taft, the incumbent Republican, but losing to the Democrat Woodrow Wilson. But progressive reforms were eventually introduced.

What they have historically done successfully could be described with an analogy of sting like a bee, Tamas said.

They emerge, really often quite suddenly, and they attack the two parties [and] they effectively pull voters away from them.

And the two parties then respond, and in critical moments, they respond by trying to take away these issue bases, whatever is making the third party successful. They take those away, the major party changes, and then effectively the third party dies.

Forward, which has pledged that it will reflect the moderate, common-sense majority, has plenty of people skeptical as to whether it can sting like a bee let alone do more and actually elect candidates.

The way that theyre presenting themselves, it may not have the galvanizing message, Tamas said.

Simply saying: Hey, you know, lets all get together and work together is barely something that gets people running on the streets protesting.

Continued here:
Forward! Is Americas latest third party marching to power or oblivion? - The Guardian US