As the world reels from the brutal terrorist attack at the Paris offices of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, a case here in my home state of Maryland may seem insignificant in comparison. But although they involve different motivations and have vastly different outcomes, the two incidents share the same central issue – a threat to freedom of speech – and raise serious questions.
Bethany Rodgers, a reporter with the local daily newspaper The Frederick News-Post, wrote a story about parking spaces assigned to county council members and mentioned county councilman Kirby Delauter by name. Delauter threatened a lawsuit if Rodgers used his name in any future stories without his permission.
I’ll let that sink in for a moment.
In my view, this case and the Charlie Hebdo siege signify an insidious danger that seems to be spreading. You can also add North Korea’s reaction to the film The Interview to the mix. The shared mindset is: If I don’t like the article/movie/cartoon you publish/produce/draw, I have the right to threaten you, hack your computers or even kill you.
Sure, it’s easy to make fun of a small-town legislator for his apparent ignorance of the First Amendment, which the Huffington Post’s Jason Linkins did here along with many others in their comments to Linkins’ blog post. Even UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh took a few jabs here.
Of course we’re all for the First Amendment, we say. And in the wake of the massacre in France, “Je suis Charlie” has become a worldwide rallying cry.
But would we still stand fast and raise our voices to defend freedom of speech if armed gunmen were at our door?