CTRAMM responds to HB6410

Kate Prokop, CTRAMM founder, wrote a letter to the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) regarding their latest proposal: infringing on the 1st Amendment.

Dear Members of the Connecticut General Assembly,

Please OPPOSE Proposed Bill 6410.

Freedom of speech is someone you don’t like, saying something you don’t want to hear. It is necessary for Democracy. If passed, this bill will make radical changes to the way people are allowed to express themselves to their elected representatives in Connecticut, especially when they respond to unprovoked attacks made by elected officials as seen below:

Why does Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff get to tweet:

“Let’s be very clear, the anti-vax movement is the offspring of Q’Anon movement. Where Q goes, they all go. #VaccinesSaveLives” (Twitter 2/16/2021)

The word “anti-vax” is a derogatory term used to target and harass people that have religious, philosophical or medical beliefs opposed to some or all vaccines. Associating these individuals with a wild conspiracy movement aims to discredit their beliefs, weaken their voice and ultimately cancel their culture.

These groups, including CTRAMM, have spread misinformation during the pandemic, which has killed more than 11,000 Connecticut residents and sickened hundreds of thousands more, said state Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, a pulmonologist. “This is a group that says this is not a real illness, this is not a real disease,” he said. (CT INSIDER Aug. 3, 2022)

Why does Senator Saud Anwar get to make false accusations about CTRAMM when no one that represents this organization has ever made any claim that COVID-19 is not real? Why is he allowed to make these claims when there is zero evidence that CTRAMM has been responsible for spreading any misinformation that has caused harm to anyone? These falsehoods attempt to disway new members from joining the group. Again, an elected official is gaslighting a group of people to discredit the group’s actual mission, which is to educate people on the process of obtaining Religious/Medical Exemptions and to provide support to the medical freedom community.

“We are here to let the people of Connecticut know that Bob is courting extreme groups that espouse ideas that will endanger our public health,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said at a virtual news conference hosted by Democrats on Tuesday. (CT INSIDER Aug. 3, 2022)

Why is it fair for Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz to label CTRAMM an extreme group that endangers public health? Because she doesn’t like unvaccinated people? CTRAMM interviewed 62 candidates prior to the 2022 election 61 Republicans and 1 Democrat. Why would 62 candidates associate themselves with CTRAMM if the organization was such a danger to public health? Again another slanderous claim aimed at discrediting and silencing a vocal organization opposed to the COVID-19 lockdown measures this elected official promoted.

Last but not least Governor Ned Lamont has been a perpetual model of hate towards anyone that uses a religious exemption for vaccines, ostracizing Religious Exemption children from education and mocking those that attended the rally to oppose it’s removal for education in 2021, stating that he would put a COVID-19 vaccine mobile unit outside the Capitol Building for us.

It is truly mind-blowing that the majority of you support this abuse, but if you try to take away our ability to defend ourselves from it you would be in strict violation of Constitutional case law New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254.

These are idea wars. You cannot infringe on the rights of someone else. This country was an experiment in self government and it created the greatest superpower the world has ever known. The US is a cultural machine of art and creativity built up by freedom of expression. When someone comes along and tries to inhibit freedom of speech, we should be extremely cautious because these actions are by definition anti-american.

Proposed Bill 6410 aims to limit constitutionally protected free speech online by demanding self censorship from residents that have been gaslighted by elected officials for years.

Freedom is not frivolous and censorship is only called for when you are losing control of the narrative.

We don’t have to be nice, you don’t have to like what we have to say, do your job – or leave.

OPPOSE 6410.