Thursday, March 27, 2003|
Oh thank God for patriots! How can we have freedom if people insist on using those freedoms? That's the question that Oregon State Senator John Minnis has pondered and his solution is life imprisonment for war protestors. According to the Democrat-Herald, Minnis original bill "would have broadened the definition of "terrorist" to include anyone who disrupts government business, public gatherings or highway traffic. "The vague definition included most peaceful acts of civil disobedience and attached a steep price: Those convicted would face a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, a fate generally reserved for the most heinous murderers." Minnis' orginal proposal has been amended so that it would affect anyone who intentionally causes the death of another - kind of like the laws that already exist against murder. The bill is opposed by both the ACLU and local law enforcement, who probably don't need the extra headaches.
It's amazing to me still that someone would think life imprisonment is an appropriate punishment for disagreeing with this country's foreign policy. Remember: dissent - it's not America without it. |
Last update: 7/12/04; 13:22:37 .
