Legal Analyst Says Cyber-Bullying Legislation Needs Focus
By Marianna Levyash – Talk Radio News Service
In a phone interview with Talk Radio News Service Thursday, Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Research Fellow Brian W. Walsh said that language used in the federal cyber-bullying bill, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), is overly broad.
“The terms [in the bill]…don’t have a precise, clear, accepted, generally agreed upon definition in federal law,” said Walsh.
Sanchez drafted the “The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act” in response to the death of Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl from Missouri who committed suicide in 2006 after being cyber-bullied on the social networking site MySpace by a woman named Lori Drew, the mother of one of Meier’s classmates. Drew was indicted and convicted on charges stemming from the incident in 2008, but was later acquitted in 2009.
The bill has received mixed reviews from a handful of members of Congress who have argued that it uses vague terms and would cause potential violations of free speech rights.
“We need to be extremely careful before heading down this path,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) during a House subcommittee hearing on the legislation back in September.
The bill would amend the federal criminal code to allow criminal penalties to be levied upon anyone that “transmits in interstate or foreign commerce a communication intended to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, by using electronic means.”
“We are going to end up criminalizing conduct that shouldn’t be criminal in the first place…it’s easy to draft an overbroad criminal law,” said Walsh.
Only Thing On Durbin’s Mind Is The Number 60
Travis Martinez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
As the Senate prepares for a Saturday vote on whether or not to bring its health care bill to the floor, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says he will be working feverishly to try to muster up 60 votes, including at least one from the other side of the aisle.
“It would be a real break if we get one Republican to join us and say yes, this is an issue worth debating,” said Durbin. “I’m not assuming a thing, we’re working hard to bring all 60 Democrat votes together to proceed with this historic debate.”
Durbin refused to divulge any information about the status of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), a moderate who has remained quiet as to how she will vote on Saturday night.
“She’s told Senator Reid,” said Durbin.”You’ll have to ask Senator Reid.”
Today At TRNS
The Washington Bureau will be covering:
-Labor Secretary Hilda Solis delivers remarks at a Latino Leaders Luncheon Series event.
-The Cato Institute holds a policy forum on “Bending the Productivity Curve: How Would Healthcare ‘Reform’ Affect Medical Innovation?”
-The Alliance for Health Reform holds a briefing on “Affordability and Health Reform: If We Mandate, Will They (And Can They) Pay?”
-Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) hold a press conference on health care.
-ManhattanDeclaration.org holds a news conference to release the “Manhattan Declaration,” which is a “4,700 word document, signed by more than 100 religious leaders, that addresses the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty, and endorses civil disobedience under certain circumstances.”
-Republican Senators hold a press conference on health care.
Republican Lance Asks Pelosi For Separate Debt Ceiling Vote
Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) urges House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to remove raising of the national debt ceiling language from the Defense spending bill. Lance said he’d like the Speaker to allow for a separate vote on the issue. (1:02)
Schumer: It Is Our Duty As Senators To Help Our Constituents
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) reminds the public that it is his duty as a legislator “to help [his] constituency despite all the obstacles thrown in [their] path.” (0:37)
Harkin: We Must Get Away From Sick Care To True Health Care
Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) shows his support for the Senate health care bill, saying “Our aim here is very simple: To recreate America as a wellness society, to get away from sick care to true health care.” (0:56)
Dodd Confident Senate Health Bill Will Pass
Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) confidently says, “This Congress, this Presidency, are going to sign into law a national health care program for all Americans.” (0:15)
Dodd: Health Bill Is An Opportunity To Make A Difference For All Americans
At a press conference Thursday marking the release of the Senate health care bill, HELP Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) says, “This is an opportunity that comes oh so rarely to any Congress to make a difference for 100% of your fellow citizens…[to] improve the quality of life for every single American for decades to come.” (0:34)
Reid Invokes Harry Truman’s Call For Health Care Reform
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) invokes a statement former President Harry S. Truman wrote to Congress 64 years ago today that said “we should resolve now that the health of this nation is a national concern, that financial barriers in the way of attaining health shall be removed, that is, the health of all the citizens deserve the help of all the nation.” (0:27)
America Has Waited A Long Time For Health Reform Says Reid
Says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), “We have been working to reform health care since the first half of the last century.” (0:16)