(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Welsh politician Adam Price proposed legislation to the Welsh Parliament, also known as the Senedd, that would punish politicians caught telling lies, according to a blog post from George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley.
If passed, the law would criminalize politicians who lie in government proceedings.
Members of the Senedd—or potential candidates up for election to it—who attempt to deceive the public could face charges.
There would be a six-month challenge period after any public statement; the law would allow a 14 day period for the defendant to either issue a written apology or attribute their statement as an opinion.
Price claimed the move was necessary in order to cover a “credibility gap” in the politics of the United Kingdom.
The proposal did not indicate what “misleading the public” entails, but in the age of alleged disinformation, anything from falsely representing the safety of a vaccine to misrepresenting someone’s biological gender could be considered a statement meant to mislead people.
For example, Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times accused people of “racism” for entertaining the possibility that the COVID virus leaked from a Wuhan lab through most of 2021.
Some are concerned that this new law could lead to an assault on the right to free speech in the United Kingdom, where the law has already come under attack.
Citizens of the U.K. faced arrest for things as simple as calling someone Irish a “leprechaun,” singing Carl Douglas’s legendary hit “Kung Fu Fighting” and praying outside of abortion clinics.
Americans face their own fight against arbitrary, tyrannical attacks on the right to free speech.
InfoWars host Owen Shroyer spent two months in federal prison in 2023 after speaking publicly at the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill protest. He did not enter the building, and simply spoke through a bullhorn.
Journalists and mainstream media talking heads also warned that “excessive free speech is a breeding ground for more Trumps,” and cautioned against free expression on social media.
