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Ha ha.
Good one.
He really got us this time.
I’m talking, of course, about South Carolina state Rep. Mike Pitts, who pulled a fast one on the press by introducing a bill that would have required journalists to register.
It was all a clever way to make a point about how the media get riled when somebody tries to trample on the First Amendment but make no such noise when the Second Amendment is in peril.
Probably the reason journalism types were too “dumb” to realize it was an “allegory on gun registration,” as one gleeful commenter put it, was that it didn’t make any sense. Kind of like a bad knock-knock joke.
The First Amendment, in addition to the press, protects speech, religion, the right to petition government and the right to assemble.
If I recall correctly, this country has had some pretty big debates over hate speech, the establishment of religion by government, protesters assembling in the street and quite a few other significant issues raised by various interpretations of the Bill of Rights.
And, from time to time, somebody comes up with idea of licensing journalists in the United States, even proposes legislation to do it. Yes, the press objects to the idea.
The problem with Pitts’s joke, though, is that it assumes reporters are knee-jerk supporters of gun control. Probably some are. I know some aren’t.
I guess the equivalent would be for a legislator to propose a bill that would remove all regulation on advertising. Or to do away with libel laws. Or to require churches to pay taxes.
I might scratch my head, and ask how such pieces of legislation might work. I might well write a blog post decrying the wisdom of such proposed legislation.
I doubt, though, that I would let rip a big laugh and applaud a subtle jab at opponents of gun registration. I doubt I would see them as sarcasm or social commentary. I think I would see them as poorly conceived and a waste of time.
Like Pitts’s bill.
