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Originally Posted by zen_tom
moosnose, the part I have a problem with is the part that means someone can go to jail for expressing their beliefs.
Fraud(and perjury) is a deliberate attempt to profit by misleading someone. Speaking (and thus speech) is more than opening and closing one's mouth.
It may already be too late, and laws may be in place in your country that allow people to be sent to prison based on thier beliefs, but I would not expect you to be happy or proud of that. Secondly, if those laws are in place, isn't it rather ironic that the president who is so keen to impose freedom all around the world, is also presiding over a nation in which it is a crime to express one's views?
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Perjury is not a deliberate attempt to profit by misleading someone, but that's neither here nor there.
I have no problem with certain kinds of speech being criminal. For example, speech that is likely to cause an immediate breach of the peace is criminal, and I have no problem with that.
You can believe whatever you want in the US. You can say whatever you want in the US (there's no real prior restraint here.) But if you say something that breaks the law, you should expect to be punished for it.
BTW, where do you live where people can NOT be punished for their beliefs? Are you in Canada? If so, what's your position on Canada's hate speech legislation? Try telling the Holocaust-deniers in Canada that they are free to express their beliefs...