What’s lurking in your social media accounts? Judging by some of the occasionally…shall we say…intemperate remarks we’ve seen in the comments here at times, a few of you have no compunction about spouting off on line. It’s one thing to do that under an anonymous screen ID and another when it’s done under your own name. Nothing ever disappears. The internet is forever.
If you’re someone who occasionally pops off on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit or some other forum, this may give you pause . . .
Two New York lawmakers are working to draft a bill that would propose a social media check before a gun purchase.
But it’s OK. They only want to look at the last three years of your online activity.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and state Sen. Kevin Palmer’s proposal would allow authorities to review three years of social media history and one year of internet search history of any person seeking to purchase a firearm.
That’s right. It’s not just social media. They also want to see what you’ve been Googling in your spare time. Is there any phrase you’d prefer that a state bureaucrat not see that you searched in the last 12 months?
“A three-year review of a social media profile would give an easy profile of a person who is not suitable to hold and possess a fire arm,” Adams explains.
“suitable”
The two are hoping to identify any hate speech on social media profiles, which are often revealed only after someone is arrested in a mass shooting.
The great thing about “hate speech” is that it’s very much in the eye of the beholder. Any government functionary who wants to find a reason not to grant a particular person the right to buy a firearm can claim almost anything constitutes hate speech if looked at from a certain perspective.
Really .. still using this hate rhetoric. How sad. #DonaldTrump is a thief stealing tax dollars from the #americanpeople. He tried to swindle his own father, and purposely cheated millions of dollars from charities and #trumpuniverity students #commanderandthief #HateSpeech https://t.co/QX8pCBrYSU
— Charity Mack (@Charity63187801) November 4, 2018
Don’t think this will stop in New York, even if these two can’t manage to get their little brainstorm signed into law. How long will it take Daddy Bloombucks and his hoplophobic harridans to get signature collectors out on the streets and fund the initiative campaigns to get something like this on the 2020 ballot in California or Washington State?
Has CNN sacked Don Lemon yet? Isn’t that how we do things now? Need to do something with white men? How is he not a racist? No mora difference between hating one race vs another. #FireDonLemon #HateSpeech
— NotTheMob (@Twin66) October 31, 2018
What could possibly go wrong?