Marvel Comics reveals black Spider-Man – who could be gay in future. Why defend freedom of icky speech? This is a bit long. Apologies. I'd meant to talk about other things, but I started writing a reply this morning to the letter that follows and I got a bit carried away. CBLDF Forms Coalition to Defend American Comics Reader Facing Criminal Charges In Canada. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today announces that it is forming a coalition to support the legal defense of an American citizen who is facing criminal charges in Canada that could result in a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison for comics brought into the country on his laptop.
This incident is the most serious in a trend the CBLDF has been tracking involving the search and seizure of the print and electronic comic books carried by travelers crossing borders. CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein says, “Although the CBLDF can’t protect comic fans everywhere in every situation, we want to join this effort to protect an American comic fan being prosecuted literally as he stood on the border of our country for behavior the First Amendment protects here, and its analogues in Canadian law should protect there.”
The CBLDF has agreed to assist in the case by contributing funds towards the defense, which has been estimated to cost $150,000 CDN.