Supreme Court to Legalize Hate Crimes

Ok, not true, but not totally inconceivable either, considering this:

The Supreme Court has ruled that a federal statute which convicted Robert Stevens, who produced videos of pit bull dogfights, is unconstitutional- a violation of First Amendment free speech rights.

The law was originally enacted to prosecute those who produce crush videos- fetish videos of women crushing small animals with their feet.  But the text of the law states,

Whoever knowingly creates, sells, or possesses a depiction of animal cruelty with the intention of placing that depiction in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial gain, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both…any visual or auditory depiction, including any photograph, motion-picture film, video recording, electronic image, or sound recording of conduct in which a living animal is intentionally maimed, mutilated, tortured, wounded, or killed, if such conduct is illegal under Federal law or the law of the State in which the creation, sale, or possession takes place…

So, Robert Stevens ran a business that sold videos of pit bull fights, which were, and still are, illegal.  He’s convicted- because dog fighting is illegal and because he produced and sold videos of the illegal act on the internet for commercial gain.  Stevens claimed his free speech rights were violated.

According to the Washington Post, the government believes these videos are akin to child pornography, and therefore not entitled to constitutional protection.  The First Amendment does not give carte blanche to all speech.  Speech which incites crime or is deemed obscene is not protected from government prosecution.

Basically, it’s illegal to engage in the act of animal cruelty, as defined by law.  But it’s now perfectly legal to make, sell, and/or distribute images and other media, depicting that act of animal cruelty.

Free speech?

Sounds like the implicit legal sanction of torture and murder to me.

via washingtonpost.com & vlex.com