This piece reflects the views of the author, Sisilia Husing, and not those of Emerald Media Group. It has been edited by the Emerald for grammar and style. Send your columns or submissions about our content or campus issues to [email protected].
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Could there be anything crueler and more reckless than making up a story that the Sandy Hook school shooting never happened, and, that the parents of those (how many kids) murdered children were really actors paid by the government? Well, that’s what Alex Jones — a popular right-wing podcast host and conspiracy theorist — did.

Those grieving parents fought back. They sued Alex Jones for defamation. They’ve won. The courts awarded large financial judgements against Alex Jones. Those lawsuits took the profit out of spewing lies. These damage awards send the clearest message to these merchants of hate and disinformation on notice: that when you act with actual malice, you can and will be held accountable. The first amendment won’t protect you. 

Here in Oregon, though, there’s a court case (Wheeler v. Green 1977) that prohibits the awarding of punitive damages for defamation. Punitive damages are a time-honored way to punish or deter people and corporations from engaging in outrageous behavior. 

That’s a big problem for Oregonians. We have entered an era where people and organizations say or publish outlandish things, things they know are not true, often for financial gain. Oregonians, though, for now, compared to many other Americans, don’t have all the tools they need to push back.

During the upcoming Session of the Oregon Legislature, our state legislators should take a fresh-hard look at Oregon’s laws on defamation. Oregonians, all of us, need the tools (including punitive damages) to deter the next Alex Jones. Let’s have a conversation about changing Oregon law to give Oregonians the right to sue for punitive damages for defamation.