Representative Janice Schmidt (D -Nashua) is the prime sponsor of a bill that would make it a crime if you engaged with public officials electronically and they decided you are a cyberbully. Sharing an email or phone number would be doxxing. But not when they do it. And they do it.
Related: Free Speech is a threat to the authoritarian tick
And they are proud to do it.
Rep. Schmidt says she received an unflattering message from someone. We only have her word on that at this point, which is not worth much but for this exercise let us assume she is correct. Some dope was “a rude and quite sucky individual.”
Perhaps he said it was time to end her, or threatened to doxx Ms. Schmidt the way Ms. Schmidt’s family and political allies have done to others. We do not know. What we do know is that the response from the sponsor of the anti-doxxing legislation to protect the ruling class was to publicly post that phone number on her state rep Facebook page.
For those following along at home that is 1) an electronic communication and 2) sharing personal contact information.
From the Bill:
“Doxxing” means recklessly or purposely revealing and publicizing any private or personally identifiable information of a public servant for the purpose of threatening, intimidating, or harassing such person in the course of his or her official duties.
The obvious problem is not doxxing, nor the perception of threat or harm it may create. It is that Schmidtler’s legislation makes her immune. She is free to doxx without fear of consequence. But then that was the point.
HB1159 was not written to protect snowflakes from legitimate threats: “which would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her personal safety or the safety of a member of that person’s immediate family, and the public servant is actually placed in such fear.”
We already have laws for that. HB1159 was crafted to silence any political speech to which she (and her Democrat cosponsors) object. All they need do is insist it resulted in third-party threats which made them fearful.
She’s a city alderman and a legislator. She seeks the power to make laws and rules the rest of us are supposed to follow. Rules that don’t have to apply to her. Big laws (like constraining constitutions) and little ones like handicapped parking. Rules she applies to bloggers and presidents but that when used to measure her conduct or behavior are harassment or the nearest thing to actual assault.
In other words, the petty tyrant is looking to graduate to totalitarianism.
