The attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is quickly changing the politics of Washington.
South Carolina U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, one of the most vocal Congressmen following the shooting in Arizona, says he will make a push for reinstating the controversial Fairness Doctrine.
“The shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech,” Mr. Clyburn said on Monday.
“Free speech is as free speech does,” Mr. Clyburn added. “You cannot yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater and call it free speech and some of what I hear, and is being called free speech, is worse than that.”
The move follows a number of political developments following the shooting. House Republicans said Sunday that they will postpone a vote on repealing President Obama’s health care law. Congressional lawmakers are also considering added protections for members of Congress.
Federal Communications Commission in 1987 stopped enforcing the Fairness Doctrine, which required the media to present both sides of an issue.
