The following is an excerpt from a bill that passed the House of Representatives on October 23, 2007.

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(3) HOMEGROWN TERRORISM- The term `homegrown terrorism' means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

(4) IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE- The term `ideologically based violence' means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual's political, religious, or social beliefs.

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Read the above carefully taking note of the use of the word force. So what does force mean aside from violence? Take a look…

force (fôrs, frs)

a. Intellectual power or vigor, especially as conveyed in writing or speech.

b. Moral strength.

c. A capacity for affecting the mind or behavior; efficacy: the force of logical argumentation.

d. One that possesses such capacity: the forces of evil.

4.

a. A body of persons or other resources organized or available for a certain purpose: a large labor force.

b. A person or group capable of influential action: a retired senator who is still a force in national politics.

This is just one of hundreds of bills that pass which contain legislation essentially stripping the American people of their rights. In this case, their right to "use, plan to use, or threaten to use intellectual power to promote the group or individual's political, religious, or social beliefs."

You can read the bill in its entirety here.

I remember hearing about this on the news for a short period of time after the bill passed, but never bothered to look into it on my own… So what do you people think?