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What Counts as Abetting Terrorists?
An interesting debate.
Richard
What Counts as Abetting Terrorists?
NYT Eds, 21 Junee 2010
In its most significant ruling on free speech rights in terrorism cases, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it a crime to provide “material support” to foreign terrorist groups.
The case, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, was brought by an American organization that sought to teach members of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (known as the P.K.K.) how to resolve disputes under international law and engage in political advocacy on behalf of Kurds in Turkey. The P.K.K. has been designated a foreign terrorist group by the State Department.
In the 6-3 majority opinion, Chief Justice John Robers wrote that barring such “expert advice or assistance” and “service” did not violate the First Amendment, “even if the supporters meant to promote only the groups’ nonviolent ends.”
What are the implications for the free speech and association rights of Americans?
David Cole, Georgetown University Law Center
Andrew C. McCarthy, legal affairs editor at National Review
Richard A. Epstein, University of Chicago Law School
Stephen I. Vladeck, American University Washington College of Law
Robert Chesney, University of Texas School of Law
Read the arguments at - http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.c...ng-terrorists/
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“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
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