Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 01:29:24 -0500 From: "The American Civil Liberties Union" To: "The American Civil Liberties Union" Subject: oppose S.2056, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act Thank you for using The American Civil Liberties Union Mail System Message sent to the following recipients: Senator Kennedy Senator Kerry Message text follows: Matthew Belmonte [address] March 24, 2004 [recipient address was inserted here] [recipient name was inserted here], I urge you to oppose the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 (S. 2056), which would allow the government to levy large fines on broadcasts that the Federal Communications Commission considers `indecent.' This economic censorship would dramatically infringe on the First Amendment and would hinder the diversity of programming available to consumers. Giving the government power to levy such large fines based on inevitably subjective standards would open the door to potential abuse: the government might someday decide that criticism of its policies are `indecent' and thereby hinder democratic debate. This new legislation would dramatically hinder free speech. Performers and other television personalities would self-censor for fear that their comments might later be interpreted as offensive. Likewise, broadcasters would place strong controls and restrictions on their shows. Creative content that challenges our ideas would likely be squashed as too risky. Once again, I urge you to oppose the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 (S.2056). I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter. Sincerely, Matthew Belmonte