Inslee seeks to criminalize spreading lies about election results by officials, candidates

The other side of free speech is being responsible for the results of what you say. If you yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater and people die in the stampede, you're liable for those deaths.

Fun fact: the "fire in a crowded theater" metaphor was used by a judge to justify punishing someone who was protesting World War I. You need to stop, step back, and think long and hard about exactly what kind of a society you're endorsing here when you demand that the government be allowed to punish people who the government has declared "cause harm."

That's what this law is about. It's not about freedom of speech, it's about consequences of people abusing their freedom of speech.

The "it's just consequences!" argument is incredibly fucking stupid even when those "consequences" are private sector things like losing one's job, but to see someone wheel it out to justify the government punishing people for speech it doesn't like... it just takes one's breath away.

/r/SeattleWA Thread Parent Link - seattletimes.com