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Law 53 of 1948 better known as the Gag Law ((スペイン語:Ley de La Mordaza)) was an act enacted by the Puerto Rico legislature of 1948 with the purpose of suppressing the independence movement in Puerto Rico. The act made it a crime to own or display a Puerto Rican flag, to sing a patriotic tune, to speak or write of independence, or meet with anyone, or hold any assembly, in favor of Puerto Rican independence. It was passed by a legislature overwhelmingly dominated by members of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), which supported developing an alternative political status for the island. The bill was signed into law on June 10, 1948 by Jesús T. Piñero, the United States-appointed governor. Opponents tried to have the law declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court, but did not succeed. The law remained in force for nine years until 1957 when it was repealed on the basis that it was unconstitutional as protected by freedom of speech within Article II of the Constitution of Puerto Rico and the First Amendment of Constitution of the United States. ==Prelude== After the United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898 during the Spanish–American War, some leaders, such as José de Diego and Eugenio María de Hostos, expected the United States to grant the island its independence.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/about/hostos.html )〕 The United States had other ideas. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ratified on December 10, 1898, the U.S. annexed Puerto Rico. Spain had lost its last colony in the western hemisphere, and the United States gained imperial strength and global presence. In the early 20th century, the Puerto Rican independence movement was strong, growing, and embraced by multiple political parties. Among these were the Union Party of Puerto Rico founded in February 1904 by Luis Muñoz Rivera, Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón, Antonio R. Barceló, and José de Diego; the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico founded by Antonio R. Barceló; and the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party founded by José Coll y Cuchí.〔 *José Trías Monge, ''Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World'' (Yale University Press, 1997) ISBN 0-300-07618-5〕 In 1914, the entire Puerto Rican House of Delegates demanded independence from the U.S. Instead, the U.S. imposed the Jones Act of 1917, which mandated U.S. citizenship on the entire island.〔Juan Gonzalez; ''Harvest of Empire,'' pp. 60-63; Penguin Press, 2001; ISBN 978-0-14-311928-9〕 The passage of the Jones Act coincided with America's entry unto World War I, and it allowed the U.S. to conscript Puerto Ricans into the U.S. military.〔("World of 1898, Spanish-American War" ), Library of Congress〕 The Jones Act was passed over the unanimous objection of the entire Puerto Rican House of Delegates, which was the legislature of Puerto Rico at that time.〔 In addition to subjecting Puerto Ricans to the military draft, and sending them into World War I,〔 the Jones Act created a bicameral, popularly elected legislature in Puerto Rico (following ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913 providing for popular election of senators), a bill of rights, and executive functions similar to those in most states. Because Puerto Rico was not a state, it did not have electoral status for U.S. presidential elections. The Act authorized popular election of the Resident Commissioner, previously appointed by the President of the U.S. In the 1930s, leaders of the Nationalist Party split as differences arose between José Coll y Cuchí and his deputy, Pedro Albizu Campos, a Harvard-educated attorney. Coll y Chuchí left the party and Albizu Campos became president in 1931. He retained this post for the rest of his life, including terms in prison. In the 1930s, social unrest rose during the harsh conditions of the Great Depression. The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, then presided over by Albizu Campos, had some confrontations with the established government of the U.S. in the island, during which people were killed by police. In 1938, Luis Muñoz Marín, son of Luis Muñoz Rivera and at first a member of the Liberal Party, founded the ''Partido Liberal, Neto, Auténtico y Completo'' (the "Clear, Authentic and Complete Liberal Party") in the town of Arecibo. He and his followers Felisa Rincon de Gautier and Ernesto Ramos Antoniniclaimed to have founded the "true" Liberal Party. His group renamed itself as the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). According to the historian Delma S. Arrigoitia, it abandoned its quest for independence and, by 1950, settled for a new political status for Puerto Rico called the ''Estado Libre Associado'' (Free Associated State), which opponents likened to continued colonialism.〔Dr. Delma S. Arrigoitia, ''Puerto Rico Por Encima de Todo: Vida y Obra de Antonio R. Barcelo, 1868-1938'', Page 292; Publisher: Ediciones Puerto (January 2008); ISBN 978-1-934461-69-3〕 In the 1940 election, the PPD finished in a dead heat with Barceló's Liberal Party. In order to secure his position as Senate president, Muñoz Marin brokered an alliance with minor Puerto Rican factions, which was possible in such a multi-party system. In the elections of 1944 and 1948, the PPD gained a majority in the Senate and increasing victory margins. In addition, its candidates won almost all legislative posts and mayoral races. The Nationalist Party did not gain much electoral support. By the late 1940s, the PPD fostered the idea of the creation of a "new" political status for the island. Under this hybrid political status as an ''Estado Libre Associado,'' or Associate Free State, the people of Puerto Rico would be allowed to elect their own governor, rather than having to accept a US appointee. In exchange, the United States would continue to control the island's monetary system, provide defense, and collect custom duties. It reserved the exclusive right to enter into treaties with foreign nations. Under this status, the laws of Puerto Rico would continue to be subject to the approval of the Federal government of the United States.〔Public Law 600, Art. 3, 81st Congress of the United States of America, July 3, 1950〕 The status of ''Estado Libre Associado'' displeased many advocates of Puerto Rican independence, as well as those who favored the island's being admitted as a state of the U.S.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gag Law (Puerto Rico)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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