Georgia Lawmaker's Terrible Grasp of First Amendment Rights Results in Hurt Feelings and Porn Star Photoshop
Georgia State Representative Earnest Smith has a problem with Photoshop. Specifically, he has a problem with it being used to cause an "unknowing person wrongfully to be identified as the person in an obscene depiction." So, along with fellow Democrat Pam Dickerson, he's trying to make such depictions illegal and punishable by a $1,000 fine. Would, say, taking a Georgia state representative's head and photoshopping it over a male porn star's body fall under such a law? Because that's just what Georgia Unfiltered's Andre Walker did last week (see photo above).
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects all forms of speech, not just spoken word. That's why House Bill 39 is so asinine. It attempts to regulate speech and I doubt it would stand up in a court of law.
Rep. Smith needs to grow some thick skin if he's going to be an elected official. Trust me when I say the altered photograph shown above was not the worst I could have done.
Smith's reaction?
"It's clear we need to do something," he told Savannah Now. "It can be done to anyone at anytime."
Does he have any idea who made the easily traceable image? Nope, not a clue. "I could not venture to give you an answer," he said, when asked if he knew who created the image.
But what about that whole First Amendment freedom of speech thing? As Daily Intelligencer notes, that doesn't apply here because according to Smith, it doesn't apply to words or images when they're mean. Says Smith:
"No one has a right to make fun of anyone. You have a right to speak, but no one has a right to disparage another person. It's not a First Amendment right."
Just so we're all clear: No one has the right to mock Smith or add their own photoshop of the lawmaker in the comments below.