South Carolina Legislator: Regulate Journalists Like Gun Owners

By Johannes Paulsen

We’ve often heard it asked: what would happen if a law were crafted that would treat other rights with the same disrespect and contempt with which the right to keep and bear arms is treated? Well, wonder no more. South Carolina State Representative Mike Pitts (R) has introduced the “South Carolina Responsible Journalism Registry Law” for what might be called, tongue planted firmly in cheek, a common sense regulation on irresponsible journalism. NPR has the story . . .

Criminal background checks and assurances that a person “is competent to be a journalist” are among the requirements put forth by State Rep. Mike Pitts in a new bill in South Carolina’s Legislature. The bill would also create a responsible journalism registry….

[S]ome of the bill is patterned on gun registration laws — something Pitts, a Republican from Laurens, S.C., has acknowledged.

The bill lays out fines — and prison time — for a “person who works as a journalist without registering,” culminating in a maximum punishment of either a $500 fine or a 30-day prison term. Those who head media outlets that hire unregistered journalists would be subject to …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns