[79340] in Cypherpunks
Re: SAFE Bill is a Disaster--"Use a cipher, go to prison"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anil Das)
Thu May 1 02:27:49 1997
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 22:48:43 -0700
From: das@razor.engr.sgi.com (Anil Das)
In-Reply-To: geeman <NOSPAM-geeman@best.com>
"Re: SAFE Bill is a Disaster--"Use a cipher, go to prison"" (Apr 30, 10:23pm)
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Reply-To: das@razor.engr.sgi.com (Anil Das)
On Apr 30, 10:23pm, geeman wrote:
> Subject: Re: SAFE Bill is a Disaster--"Use a cipher, go to prison"
>
> I'd like to point out that the key phrase in there seems to be
> "under any law in effect on the effective date of this chapter" -- altho
> it's gobbledegooked,
> the intent seems to say "if there is no law in effect mandating GAK when
> this bill becomes
> law, there can never be a law passed which does" Or in other words, it has
> the effect of making
> GAK no better, or worse, than under current law, while preventing passage
> of GAK laws in the future.
Agreed, except for one subtle correction. Congress cannot
make a law saying a future congress cannot make such and such a law,
because the future congress can always repeal, amend or override the
old law. So, what this section does is to make GAK through an
executive order impossible.
--
Anil Das
