[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 264 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 264

 Recognizing the importance of protecting freedom of speech, thought, 
                            and expression.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 9, 2021

 Mrs. Blackburn (for herself, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Braun, Mr. Cramer, Mrs. 
 Hyde-Smith, and Mr. Tillis) submitted the following resolution; which 
             was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the importance of protecting freedom of speech, thought, 
                            and expression.

Whereas freedom of speech is one of the most basic values of the United States;
Whereas the ability of all people of the United States to speak, protest, and 
        express their opinions publicly is central to the democratic process and 
        to a free society;
Whereas the principles of the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression 
        are under attack by people with the desire and means to suppress 
        opinions that those people regard as offensive or contrary to prevailing 
        dogmas;
Whereas efforts to stifle debate and silence dissenters are compounded by cancel 
        culture, a movement to impose severe social and economic sanctions on 
        those who express unpopular opinions;
Whereas the freedom of speech should not be dictated by the majority, nor should 
        it be restricted to the freedom to discuss uncontroversial topics;
Whereas the freedom of speech includes the freedom to express views that are 
        unpopular, controversial, and even offensive;
Whereas these attacks on the freedom of speech have resulted in a chilling 
        effect on free expression and created fear of social, economic, and 
        deadly retaliation;
Whereas the stifling of free expression and the resulting fear has exacerbated 
        social tensions and divided the people of the United States;
Whereas, in January 2018, a student at Liberty High School in Oregon was 
        suspended for wearing a shirt that supported President Donald Trump;
Whereas, in January 2018, authorities from the People's Republic of China 
        pressured Marriot International to fire an employee for using the 
        company's social media account to like a Twitter post from a Tibetan 
        separatist group;
Whereas, in July 2018, the People's Republic of China pressured airline 
        companies from the United States to alter their websites to recognize 
        the country's claim to the island of Taiwan;
Whereas, in October 2019, Blizzard Entertainment temporarily banned Ng Wai Chung 
        from their esports tournament for wearing a mask supporting protests in 
        Hong Kong;
Whereas, in October 2019, Blizzard Entertainment temporarily banned an American 
        University esports team from their competition for displaying a sign 
        critical of the company and supporting protests in Hong Kong;
Whereas, in October 2019, authorities in the People's Republic of China 
        pressured Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets 
        basketball team, to apologize for expressing support on Twitter for 
        protests in Hong Kong;
Whereas, in September 2020, the University of Southern California placed 
        Professor Greg Patton on leave after explaining a word in the Mandarin 
        language that is pronounced similarly to an offensive word in English 
        during his lecture;
Whereas, in December 2020, opinion editor Adam Rubenstein resigned from the New 
        York Times 6 months after he faced backlash from the staff of the New 
        York Times for editing an opinion piece by Senator Tom Cotton of 
        Arkansas; and
Whereas, in February 2021, Lucasfilm fired actress Gina Carano after she 
        authored a social media post calling on people not to hate their 
        neighbors for their political views: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate recognizes that freedom of expression and 
freedom of speech are sacred ideals of the United States and should 
protect the freedom to peacefully express thoughts and opinions without 
fear.
                                 <all>