Excellent article by Alexandra Snyder, Chief Executive Officer at Life Legal Defense Foundation - please see www.lifelegaldefensefoundation.org.

Conversation opened. 1 unread message.  Skip to content Using Gmail with screen readers 1 of 108 Fighting GOVERNMENT SPEECH CONTROL in CRAZY PRO-ABORT New York State…. Inbox Life Legal Defense Foundation via mta-bbcspool.convio.net  5:30 AM (5 hours ago) to me Fighting GOVERNMENT SPEECH CONTROL in CRAZY PRO-ABORT New York State…. The state of New York is waging war on free speech, targeting people and platforms who hold views contrary to its own. The “Hateful Conduct Law” subjects users to punishment for failing to endorse the state’s intentionally ambiguous definition of conduct (“use of a social media network to vilify [or] humiliate” on the basis of a number of “protected” characteristics). With the stated intent of preventing speech that “spreads and promotes hate,” New York requires social media platforms to create and publicize a mechanism for flagging and reporting “hateful conduct” on their sites. While the law’s stated goal of reducing violence seems well-intentioned, the means chosen – a law that implicitly equates speech with violence – is fraught with unintended consequences. Earlier this year, a few sites pushed back by filing a federal lawsuit against the Hateful Conduct Law, decrying the law’s violation of the First Amendment. The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Volokh v. James, is First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh, while the defendant is Letitia James, Attorney General for the state of New York. Government attempts to suppress or control disfavored speech are not new. The pro-life movement has grown accustomed to this sort of censorship. Volokh cites two cases regarding crisis pregnancy centers, NIFLA v Becerra from 2018 and Evergreen v Schneiderman from 2017, as analogous to his case. By requiring these centers to disseminate state-provided information regarding abortion and contraception, centers were forced to endorse government views antithetical to their pro-life mission. The pro-life movement won these cases, but Volokh v. James demonstrates that government attempts to suppress disfavored speech continue. The plaintiffs won the first round when a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law, but Attorney General James appealed to the Second Circuit. Life Legal is fighting this attempted expansion of government control of speech with an amicus brief, on behalf of itself and Young Americans for Freedom. We are supporting Volokh and the other plaintiffs and clarifying that the Hateful Conduct Law’s equation of speech with violence is illogical and unconstitutional. Life Legal knows what sort of speech the state of New York seeks to eliminate. NIFLA and Evergreen have shown us where New York is heading with this law. Stand with us to safeguard the First Amendment right to speak on behalf of children in the womb. Please consider making a generous donation today. We are so grateful for your prayers and your faithful support that allows us to intervene to protect life and liberty. Standing for LIFE, Alexandra Snyder, Chief Executive Officer "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter." Proverbs 24:11 PLEASE DONATE TODAY! SHARE ON FACEBOOK Please pray for Life Legal cases and clients. Click here or on the image above to view and print our most current prayer requests.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. (1 John 5:15) PLEASE DONATE TODAY! Connect with us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Life Legal Defense Foundation https://lifelegaldefensefoundation.org