• disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    You excluded the most important part of that sentence. The part that explains the law:

    The states that have passed legislation making it illegal for state agencies to work with companies that boycott Israel include…

    There’s no law stopping you as a citizen from boycotting, or recommending boycotting a business. This law targets business boycotts exclusively.

    • Veraxus@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I guess business owners and government workers, who are all citizens themselves, don’t have Constitutional rights any more. Yay?

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        You can act and voice your opinion as a private citizen, even if you own a business or work for the government. The law affects state funding from businesses that boycott investments.

        • Veraxus@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          The state may not penalize people for free speech. Are you arguing that exempting people from state work for exercising protected free speech does not count as penalizing?

            • Veraxus@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              That’s literally what the whole article is about…? Did you miss it because you didn’t read the article?

              Here’s the key bit…

              The states that have passed legislation making it illegal for state agencies to work with companies that boycott Israel…

              That is the State penalizing free speech and free expression, and is therefore Unconstitutional.

              • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

                Right. It states that the companies that boycott Israel will be ineligible for working with a state agency. A business is not the same as a citizen.

                I’m not agreeing with the law, by the way. I’m just pointing out how it’s not unconstitutional.

                • Veraxus@lemmy.world
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                  6 months ago

                  A business is not the same as a citizen.

                  The Citizens United vs FEC states clearly and unambiguously that a business is to be treated as an individual where Constitutional rights are concerned. That ruling was a pretty big deal, I’m surprised you didn’t know about it.

          • Hello Hotel@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            … exempting people from state work for exercising protected free speech …

            that’s not correct, you are still allowed to have a voice as an individual. However it does prevent you or your highest level boss from speaking positively about BDS using their company (and companies are people). ALSO it puts pressure on the work environment to not be out of line and talk about it.