This T-Shirt backed by the U.S. Constitution

In this day and age, it seems as if the government is assaulting our personal freedoms left and right. From tapping phones, leaking covert operatives, maintaining secret prisons and filling them with citizens and "enemy combatants" as well as limiting access to government records by investigative agencies, this particular administration seems to be ratcheting down the nation's control over her citizens without remaining accountable for their actions. Now, it seems as if the states are following suit in this travesty of civil rights reduction by placing limits on the First Amendment.

By no means is this the first instance of the government putting limitations on free speech; during World War I, limitations were placed that prevented people from distributing fliers that opposed the draft. This was likened to shouting fire in a crowded theater; i.e. it puts the country in a clear and present danger. However, this was overruled by Brandenburg v Ohio which ruled that speech may only be infringed upon if it will incite imminent lawless action. However, in this case, an attempt is being made to stifle a T-Shirt. The shirts (from two different independent sources) list all of the men and women who have fallen in Iraq since the war began. Texas will be the fifth state to pass a bill banning these shirts by, in effect, requiring the T-Shirt makers to get permission from a family member of each and every name that appears on their shirts. While the bill asserts that the T-Shirt makers are using the names to their own advantage, it seems that the bill is using the sheer volume of names to remove the shirts from circulation.

This article in the Austin American Statesman describes the issue. I won't deny that the concept behind the shirt's design isn't shocking or perhaps even offensive, however, I believe it is a non-issue as to whether or not it is going to incite the "imminent lawless action" required to ban this speech. This article and, furthermore, this topic is important as we try to come to terms with and hopefully take back some of our lost liberties.