This week, Republican senatorial candidate and staunch Second Amendment defender Austin Petersen found himself banned
from Facebook after posting a video promoting the right to
self-defense. While in front of an American flag, Austin expressed conservative viewpoints, relayed his concerns regarding his opponents’ stance on self-defense rights, and discussed a firearm raffle. To be clear, the only firearm present in the video was a subpar drawing he made of one. Although the video didn’t violate any laws or Facebook policies, shortly after the video went viral, Austin received a notification from Facebook informing him that a decision had been made to ban him. Assuming Facebook isn’t in the business of judging art, one might question if it was the articulation of conservative views that the platform deemed cause for censorship.
Tuesday marked the second time during Austin’s campaign for U.S. Senate that a major component of his campaign platform was subject to censorship and as a result, communicating with voters and supporters was prohibited. The first time occurred less than six months ago after he posted a compliant video in which a firearm was on display. During the video, just as he did this week, Austin explained a crucial part of his campaign platform to voters, advocated for the right to self-defense, and discussed a firearm raffle.
