[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 9, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 264--RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING FREEDOM 
                   OF SPEECH, THOUGHT, AND EXPRESSION

  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:

                              S. Res. 264

       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.

                          ____________________