11th Circuit Holds “Stop W.O.K.E. Act” violates First Amendment

[Res Ipsa]

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s injunction against enforcement of Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E. Act.”

https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinion ... 213135.pdf

The court held that the law violated the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.

The opinion is excellent, and is a perfect primer on the importance of the First Amendment and the right’s campaign to use the government to suppress speech it doesn’t like. It’s very much worth reading.

The right has been screaming against “cancel culture,” which is based on the conduct of private citizens. At the same time, it is attempting to use the coercive power of the state to suppress the expression of viewpoints with which the right disagrees. While “cancel culture” may be unhealthy or unpleasant or a bad idea, I as a citizen of the U.S. have the right to, say, criticize J.K. Rowling’s transphobia and advocate for a boycott of her books. Or write a letter to Harvard Law School demanding that a certain professor be fired or else I will no longer donate to the School. And I have a right to advocate that others do the same.

The Stop Woke Act is an example of something far, far worse than cancel culture. In this type of act, the government prohibits speech the party that controls the government disagrees with. It is the type of tyrannical use of governmental power that strikes at the heart of the Constitution. It prohibits the expression of specific ideas by private employers in their training programs. Similar attempts have been made to prohibit doctors from giving medical advice within the standard of care.

This is the government trying to punish citizens for expressing a viewpoint different from what the government has adopted as political orthodoxy. And if it is permitted, the door is open to complete totalitarian control of our speech, press, and even religion.

While Rs rage about mythical “hate speech” laws, they are enacting “orthodox speech” laws that suppress speech they simply disagree with.

While this law can be dismissed as an election stunt by DeSantis, there are many such laws being passed by R dominated state legislatures.

This is why I am such a vigorous supporter of the First Amendment. The government has no business punishing speech based on its political viewpoint.

[Kishkumen]

This is wonderful news! Thanks for sharing it! It really has had a chilling effect on speech, which is a very BAD thing.

By the way, I think cancel culture is neither new nor something that only one side of our unfortunate ideological divide is guilty of engaging in. People will try to make those with whom they disagree shut up.