Since Wednesday, we've been following news of pending legislation in Albany that would make illegal anonymous online commenting in certain contexts.

That proposed piece of law would require the removal of any comments posted on a website by an anonymous poster "unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post" if someone complains about that comment.

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Yesterday, the Voice reported on pending legislation in Albany that would ban anonymous online speech. We took the time to catch up with New York State Sen. Thomas F. O'Mara and Assemblyman Dean Murray, who sponsored the bill, to see what they had to say. Quickly put, their basic idea is that the proposed legislation would cut down on cyber-bullying -- such as untrue, and unsigned, comments you might come across in a message board or on a blog.

Uncertainty over the Constitutionality of the bill persists, however, with one expert telling us: "I would like to see an argument -- and I haven't seen one -- that would authorize a legislature to determine what can be posted or not posted on a private website...the Constitution does not talk about websites or anonymity. The cases over the years suggest that the legislature has no business trying to tell editors what to print."

During our convo, we asked Murray about this. He countered that it was constitutional, citing the 1974 Gertz v. Robert U.S. Supreme Court Decision as evidence that the First Amendment does not protect against the falsehood-based mean-mongering you come across on the internet.

So what the hell is the Gertz decision, you might ask?

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The Voice's Steven Thrasher just brought this to our attention.

Legislation is pending in Albany that would make illegal anonymous online commenting, City & State tweeted this morning.

Looks like Wired was among the first to report on the measure.

The bill's backers, according to the mag, want to curtail "mean-spirited and baseless political attacks" and "spotlight on cyberbullies by forcing them to reveal their identity."

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A few weeks back, The Associated Press reported some more sucky news about the job market: Employers increasingly want passwords to social networking sites, and will demand that info from prospective employees on job apps.

Creeped out because H.R. might soon click through your private spring break photos or old IMs with friends? Well, you're certainly not the only one. A lot of people have decried this practice as an invasion of privacy and violation of civil rights.

So what's being done about it?

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nylcu.org

New Yorkers are legally protected against discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or disability -- which means people who fall under any of those categories cannot lose access to homes, jobs, and other services because of their racial, sexual, or physical identities.

Currently, however, there are no protections for New Yorkers who are transgender or express their gender differently from societal expectations and stereotypes.

And according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which is pushing to change the discrimination laws to include this group, New York state is falling behind.

This week, the NYCLU released a report documenting discrimination in the state for transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers.

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The New York Police Department, not Muslims, is the victim of profiling.

At least that's what one op-ed writer at the New York Post wants you to think.

Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a physician in New York and author of In the Land of Invisible Women took to the tabloid's opinion pages today to explain that cops should not come under fire for spying on entire Muslim neighborhoods.

She writes: "The true wrong here is done by a biased media and a suspicious, maneuvering minority within the Muslim minority. Their distortions have unapologetically cast the NYPD, the CIA, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as bigoted racists violating basic American ideals."

Oy.

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If you sell alcohol to a minor, you can get arrested.

And if you do not sell alcohol to a minor, you can apparently also get arrested.

No, really.

The Daily News tells the story of Ismael Duran, a father of three who immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic three years ago. Duran works at the Giselle Mini Mart in Brownsville. When 18-year-old undercover cop Anthony Harriott tried to buy Smirnoff Ice, Duran checked his I.D. and refused, as Harriott is a minor.

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America, fuck no!

Runnin' Scared recently brought you news of the damning 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision that OKs strip searches for any offense -- even something so minor as an unpaid parking ticket.

Yes, it is absurd -- and just plain wrong -- that jailers can now make inmates undergo cavity searches for a parking ticket.

And specifically in New York, there are plenty of minor offenses in the penal code that can lead to these invasive investigations.

Some of these crimes?

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Looks like it might be a really bad week for civil liberties.

The Bronx Defenders just released a study claiming that 41 percent of pot busts in the borough violated the rights of arrestees during the 5-month study period.

Turns out that this practice persisted despite warnings from New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly (via Daily News)

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Bad news if you don't like getting dehumanized: The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled 5-4 to OK strip searches for any offense.

What this means: if you get booked for an offense as minor as an unpaid parking ticket, you might have to bare all for corrections officers before being admitted to jail.

Yep, you read that right. Something as minor as an unpaid parking ticket can require that you suffer an immense indignity -- including cavity searches -- without having been convicted of any crime.

And jail officials don't even have to suspect that you're carrying contraband.

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