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This is basic freedom of speech. The government does not get to dictate what your opinions are allowed to be. Not even if you sell things to the government. Tex
by imgabe 5y ago
This is basic freedom of speech. The government does not get to dictate what your opinions are allowed to be. Not even if you sell things to the government. Texas needs to repeal this law asap.
- fennecfoxen 5y agoIf it’s a boycott ban then it’s not really freedom of speech and is more about freedom of association. (Which is still pretty well protected by US jurisprudence.)
- ComputerGuru 5y agoCongress has been pretty clear recently that the right to spend money (or not) is a matter of freedom of speech, not just association. See PACs.
- laverya 5y agoCongress has also been pretty clear that there's no right NOT to spend money on health insurance.
- fennecfoxen 5y agoYou refer to Citizens United and the right to spend money on things like advertisements and PACs and movies about current political candidates? Yes. But that was very speech-oriented spending. I'm not aware of jurisprudence extending the concept of "speech" to general spending decisions in the context of boycotts — but again, it's probably not necessary; freedom of association is a real freedom.
- bsenftner 5y agoIt's not just Texas. Try public voicing anti-Israel anything and you'll quickly learn how our freedoms are a farce.
- cpach 5y agoI don’t follow. Is it not possible in the US to criticize Israel?
- AzzieElbab 5y agoBDS is going a bit beyond criticism.
- hnbad 5y agoDoes nobody remember the backlash against France for not participating in the wars in the Middle East? Companies publicly boycotted French products and went to the extent of replacing the word "French" with "Freedom" in words like "French fries" or "French toast". Boycotting Jewish companies (for being owned by Jewish people) is antisemitic, but the goal of BDS is boycotting Israeli companies over accusations against the Israeli government the same way e.g. the US sanctions Iranian companies over accusations against the Iranian government.
- AzzieElbab 5y agoThere is nothing wrong with boycotting Israel or any other country for a reason of your choosing. The problem with BDS is its complete dishonesty, it passes ongoing armed conflict for something else.
- Hizonner 5y agoThe "BDS movement" is not an organization and does not have a sharp boundary, but insofar as it has something vaguely like a boundary, the vast majority of the people inside of it are not engaged in armed conflict against Israel, are not supporting armed conflict against Israel, and never have been. Even if the majority of them were, the defining issue for BDS itself is not doing business with Israeli entities. Not doing business is not armed conflict. For you to have a point, they would have to somehow using the boycott itself to aid in shooting up the place. That doesn't even pass the laugh test.
- chasd00 5y agoI live in and love Texas but, man, there are some stupid laws on the books. The one preventing Tesla from selling here is so ridiculous as well.
- skohan 5y agoThat's a regulatory capture issue isn't it? Car dealers have legislated themselves a piece of the pie.