NEWS
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
A report about Eminem's lyrics have put that Detroit artist in hot water with the Secret Service, luckily they've decided not to investigate further. Sounds like another case of "you have freedom of speech, but" that has dogged the First Amendment since the days the alien and sedition acts made criticism a crime."[...] The Secret Service made preliminary inquiries because of lyrics in Eminem's song, "We Are American." The lyrics say "(Expletive) money, I don't rap for dead presidents, I'd rather see the president dead."
Representatives of the Detroit rapper could not be reached Monday night for comment. Eminem's spokesman told CNN recently the song was "unfinished" and that "there was no determination where, when, how or if it was going to be used."
Gill said the Secret Service must balance its duties of investigating such communications with its respect for the constitutional right of freedom of speech.
He added, however, that it was necessary for the Secret Service to look into communications that could be considered threatening to the president.
"The Secret Service takes every potential threat against the president seriously," Gill said. "We don't have the luxury to do otherwise.""
Posted by Rob at 12:24 AM
