Congress shall make no law ...

... abridging the freedom of speech. First Amendment to the US Constitution.

Two of the flakiest left wingers in the U.S. Congress -- John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich -- are among those proposing a Congressional Resolution stating that Congress:

1. condemns bigotry, acts of violence, and intolerance against any religious group, including our friends, neighbors, and citizens of the Islamic faith;
2. declares that the civil rights and civil liberties of all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith, should be protected;
3. recognizes that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as any other holy book of any religion, should be treated with dignity and respect; and
4. calls upon local, State, and Federal authorities to work to prevent bias-motivated crimes and acts against all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith.

This is a toe-in-the-water "resolution" -- not a law carrying penalties for its violation yet -- testing whether religious "bias crime" laws will be tolerated, that especially picks out for protection the religious faith of our nation's enemies. Odd bit of work here, no?

Tell me; Have I violated this resolution if I write that Islam is a horrific religion raising to the level of sacred law the backward, limiting, freedom-hating, militaristic, human enslaving tribal laws of a 6th Century charismatic madman? Or if I write that the Koran is a third-rate piece of literature that reveals more about its author's ignorance than it reveals about God?

Why shouldn't I be able to write that? What if I think it's true -- which I do, based on my own reading of the Koran and study of the religion?

I think this resolution, were it in fact a penalty-carrying law, would outlaw such statements. After all, it would outlaw "intolerance" and "bias motivated ... acts." There are laws on the books in some countries, Australia among them, that do outlaw "bias crimes." Two evangelical preachers there have been convicted of violating that law for reading quotations from the Koran itself and pointing out how violent much of it is. That case is on appeal and I can only hope the Australian legislature realizes in the meantime what a stupid law it is.

I will watch with interest what happens with this stupid Resolution. If it passes, this Congress may actually get around to trying to pass it as a law with teeth.
Here is the full text of the Resolution.

House Resolution 288

Oh, and here's a photo of my Koran, post read: