Declare your support for freedom

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) led a news conference to call for members of Congress to sign the discharge petition for the Broadcaster Freedom Act by Radio Independence Day, July 4th. Both Boehner and Pence voiced their concern on Americans’ right to free speech over the radio.

Pence explained that last year Congress passed a one year ban on enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine which served to stifle free speech on the radio airwaves for four decades. Pence and Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) introduced the Broadcaster Freedom Act which would permanently keep “the regulation off the books” but the bill is being blocked by Congress. Pence said that democrats in Congress want to restore the Fairness Doctrine and bring censorship back to the airwaves. He also said that when a petition was brought forth to bring the Broadcaster Freedom Act to the floor, it was signed by every single republican and not one democrat.

Boehner said that the idea of the American government being a censor is “one of the most bizarre things I have ever heard.” He also said that the founding fathers deemed free speech as the nation’s number one priority and that Americans cannot stand by and let this assault on free speech occur.

Both Boehner and Pence agree that if the Act be brought to the floor, it would overwhelmingly pass. They both urged all Americans to contact their members of Congress and ask them to sign the petition. Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham agreed with everyone present that the Fairness Doctrine is a real threat. She ended the conference with regard to her free speech rights by simply saying, “out of my cold, dead hands.”