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Law 53 of 1948 better known as the Gag Law,[1] (Spanish: Ley de La Mordaza) was an act enacted by the Puerto Rico legislature[a] 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 to meet with anyone or hold any assembly in favor of Puerto Rican independence.[2] It was passed by a legislature that was 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.[3] Opponents tried but failed to have the law declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.
The law remained in force for nine years until 1957, when it was repealed on the basis that it was unconstitutional as protected by freedom of speech within Article II of the Constitution of Puerto Rico and the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
- ^ Pariser, Harry (1987). Explore Puerto Rico (5th ed.). Moon Publications. p. 23. ISBN 9781893643529. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
The Puerto Rican legislature under U.S. mandate passed la mordaza (the "gag law") in May 1948.
- ^ Martinez, J.M. (2012). Terrorist Attacks on American Soil: From the Civil War Era to the Present. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-4422-0324-2. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ Flores, Lisa Pierce (2010). The History of Puerto Rico. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-313-35418-2.
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