Critical Defects

The Drug Policy Alliance has joined Gun Owners of America in expressing concern about new IRS guidelines that discourage advocacy groups from criticizing politicians who are up for re-election. The DPA is also worried about a proposed advisory opinion from the Federal Election Commission that expands the definition of "campaign expenditure." It says both of these rules will create uncertainty about what kind of speech is permitted:

Even sending you an e-mail saying that your Senator just voted the wrong way on a bill could become illegal. For instance, Senator [Joe] Biden first introduced his controversial RAVE Act just a few months before the 2002 elections. Because he was up for re-election that year, it may have been illegal for the Alliance to alert you to the bill had the FEC and IRS rulings been in place then.

"Together," DPA warns, "these proposals represent one of the worst assaults on the freedom of speech and association ever proposed in the United States."