Verfassungsblog (Aug 2023)
"Blood On Your Hands"
Abstract
Metaphors are not just rhetorical devices. They are also a significant part of legal reality. A look across the Atlantic shows that the effects they can have even entail risks for the constitutional democracy. This blog posts looks at the case of Zooey Zephyr, member of the House of Representatives in Tennessee, who was stripped of her speaking rights for calling out Republicans for having ‚blood on their hands‘. At present, however, legal interpretation does not allow an accurate grasp of such metaphors. Therefore, a rethinking is necessary.
