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When it involves protecting illegal aliens, Bill de Blasio happily tromps all over the First Amendment. Two days ago the New York City Commission on Human Rights proudly issued their new “law” with this press release.
BREAKING:
New York City has made it illegal to threaten to call ICE based on a discriminatory motive or to tell someone "go back to your country." Hate has no place here. pic.twitter.com/8PaIozjQty— City of New York (@nycgov) September 26, 2019
A couple of things jumped out at me when I read this. First of all, anyone who is not here LEGALLY is here ILLEGALLY. Secondly, federal government laws and regulations pertaining to immigration use the term illegal alien. Third, there’s some definite First Amendment considerations here.
The new law is twenty nine pages long. If you can stand it, you can read it all here. If you are caught being all hateful and stuff, what can happen?
“The restrictions — violations of which are punishable by fines of up to $250,000 per offense — are outlined in a 29-page directive released by City Hall’s Commission on Human Rights.”
What in the world? $250,000 per offense? That’s totally insane! Oh, but that’s not all. They wrote this new law because of four instances. Yes, out of the several million people living and working in NYC, there are only FOUR instances where people have been caught saying bad words.
The question is: Where those bad words said in a work environment? Were those bad words said by a city employee to a civilian? A quick read through doesn’t show specifics. However, the commission was all too happy to provide a few hypotheticals as to why we shouldn’t use bad words.
““A hotel prohibits its housekeepers from speaking Spanish while cleaning because it would ‘offend’ hotel guests or make them uncomfortable,” reads one hypothetical.
“An Indian immigrant family complains to their landlord about mold and cockroaches in their unit. The landlord tells them to ‘just deal with it’ and threatens to call ICE if they file a complaint in housing court,” reads another.”
Number one, the Commission is implying that this kind of rhetoric happens constantly. Guess what? It doesn’t. Instances like the hypotheticals above, which are completely unacceptable, emanate from the few …NOT the many. As to this being effective and why the Commission is putting this law in place? Because this is their stand against ICE and against the Trump Administration issuing any kind of crackdown on illegal immigration!
Good ole Mayor de Blasio – failed 2020 Presidential candidate issued his own threat.
If you want to come into the ultimate city of immigrants and try to spread hate, you WILL face the consequences. https://t.co/QWy54wADZ1
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) September 27, 2019
Wow. He’s really super serious guys! Except there’s a teeny tiny problem with the new law and de Blasio’s edict.
NYC evidently unaware of NY’s state constitution:
"Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects”https://t.co/CnZN4dEKfF pic.twitter.com/lRldF6W8Xu
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 28, 2019
Oh gosh, so the NYC Commission made a law that ummm goes against the NY state Constitution? Say it isn’t so!
Bill de Blasio threatens people for non-compliance on this. Except just a little while ago, he said those being super mean to the illegal immigrant aliens weren’t the average Joe on the street. Nope, it’s those EEEVIL corporations!
Oh wait, I get it now. This was de Blasio’s plan all along! Blame the big corporations and yet gouge the little guy with a $250,000 fine for daring to use the term ‘illegal alien.’
THIS is exactly what Orwell created in 1984… you are implementing the Newspeak. Hard pass. And New York is losing its damn mind.
— Colorado RedTraci (@goptraci) September 28, 2019
Yes, those running New York City have indeed lost their damned minds. I can just see it now. Reports will be flowing in about all sorts of hate speech. How much of it will be real and how many of those reports will be false because triggered snowflakes? I put it at a 5% real, 95% FAKE NEWS.
This stupid new law has major First Amendment consequences written all over it. Quite frankly, the using term illegal alien is NOT hate speech. People can still sling words and terms at each other that others find objectionable. The ONLY time that anyone has any real legal recourse is if it happens IN THE WORKPLACE.
Someone will say something and next thing you know, they’ll land in municipal court facing a $250,000 fine because someone else got their feelings hurt.
Bill de Blasio is in favor of bankrupting people who say the wrong words at the wrong time. 1984 was supposed to be a lesson in what NOT to do. It was NOT supposed to be a how-to guide!!
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Feature Photo Credit: DonkeyHotey via Flickr, cropped and modified
DC says: How much will it cost NYC to litigate this anti-free-speech law? Not that anyone in NYC cares, apparently.
They could save time if they just made everything illegal and punishable by a fine, to generate revenue.
John Reece says: Rather than whine about leftist word games just be creative and deploy even more pointed alternative language.
Leftists say non-white people can’t be racist, fine. Then just say ‘bigots of color’.
‘Ilegal alien’ is verboten? Go with something along the lines of ‘line-cutting, gate-crashing immigration cheaters, scofflaws, poachers, or scabs’.
Etc.
NYCJourno says: Watch out for the “workplace” exception. It is the camels nose … and whrn you get down to it that exception is a fabrication also. People donKt lose rights just by dint of what they happen to be doing.
GWB says: When it involves protecting illegal aliens, Bill de Blasio happily tromps all over the First Amendment.
FIFY
GWB says: The new law is twenty nine pages long.
There’s your second indication that this is probably a bad law. 29 pages?!
“A hotel prohibits its housekeepers from speaking Spanish while cleaning because it would ‘offend’ hotel guests or make them uncomfortable,”
Oh goody! Then you also wouldn’t mind banning all the pro-homosexual stuff since it offends me, right? Wait? That’s not how this works?
The landlord tells them to ‘just deal with it’ and threatens to call ICE if they file a complaint in housing court
Well, if they’re here illegally, I don’t care what they’re complaining about, they should go home.
If they’re not here illegally, then there is already recourse under other non-discrimination-in-housing laws if he does call ICE.
I’m tempted to drive to NYC and start accusing people of being illegal aliens just to get them to arrest me. Because I will sue them for all the money they don’t have, plus some. Heck, I’ll get to sue under NY AND Federal jurisdictions! (Does that double the amount of money I can win?)
Penrod says: They haven’t lost their minds: they are thugs. Control freaks who use the violence of government to squash anyone they dislike, and they dislike anyone who refuses to submit to their demands.
They aren’t insane, and they haven’t lost their minds at all: Scratch a modern Democrat and find a fascist.
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