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> And tell me again why lobbying is legal The 1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law [...] abridging [...] the right of the people peaceably to assemble, a
by gwright 6y ago
> And tell me again why lobbying is legal
The 1st Amendment:
Congress shall make no law [...] abridging [...] the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
This is the core idea, but obviously the concept of "lobbying" embodies a lot more than just assembly and petitioning in current usage.
I do think it is important to realize that we do have a right to advocate for change. Laws that regulate or curtain "lobbying" need to be carefully crafted to avoid infringing on these rights.
- yboris 6y agoGiving money or paying for a dinner doesn't seem like "assembly and petitioning". It is illegal to bribe a cop. It doesn't seem like "a clever loophole" to buy the police department new equipment - it still seems like a bribe to me. There's no legal reason we can't craft law to be different than it currently is, closing these "loopholes". Campaign finance reform (publicly financing campaigns and limiting campaign spending) would be a great step.
- gwright 6y ago> There's no legal reason we can't craft law to be different than it currently is, Of course. I didn't say differently. But lots of people don't understand the conceptual relationship to "lobbying" and the 1st amendment and I thought it was worth pointing that out.