I oppose the proposed SOPA & PIPA legislation currently under consideration in the U.S. Congress. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Samuel Adams and many others would also oppose this legislation. It’s the antithesis of everything our Constitution and Bill of Rights represents and protects.
Resources
- You’ll find excellent infographics and links to ways to express your disapproval of this legislation here Kikolani.com
- Letter from Online News Association
- What Would a Post SOPA Internet Look Like?
- SOPA Countdown
Here’s the text of a letter I submitted to Congressman Spencer Bacchus via PopVox (and I also intend to send it to him directly via email or USPS):
I oppose H.R. 3261: Stop Online Piracy Act because I believe in the First Amendment and the power of sharing ideas. I believe in liberty and freedom.
I am a scholar, author, photographer, videographer and internet content creator. Yes, it’s possible for my content to be stolen and used without my permission. It’s happened. I value copyright and respect the copyrights of others.
But I would rather err on the side of freedom and liberty. I want to enable the creation of ideas and sharing of information, not restrain the marketplace of ideas. Once a freedom is lost it never comes back.
As the period of copyright protection has been extended into what is, today, usually more than a century for individually-created works and nearly a century for works with a corporate author, the purpose of the copyright is being destroyed. The Founding Fathers are probably cringing and shaking their heads.
There will be irreversible and long-term damage to our culture, our political system, and our perceptions of liberty if SOPA or PIPA or anything similar is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
Please kill this legislation.
Thanks,
Sheree Martin”
I also sent a version of this letter to Senator Richard Shelby & Senator Jeff Sessions via email.
The Ben Franklin Follies 
Posted on January 18, 2012
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