American blasphemy

Death or decades-long sentences attend violations of blasphemy law in Afghanistan and other Muslim-dominated countries -- penalties considerably more severe than those of surviving state laws in the U.S.

One state law is already in court. George Kalman is challenging the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania state law forbidding the use of blasphemous words in corporate names in that state.

Howard M. Friedman says:

Kalman wanted to name his production company "I Choose Hell Productions," to reflect the philosophical theme of his movies. In 2007, articles with that name were rejected because of the blasphemy and profanity prohibition, and he ultimately refiled under the name "ICH Productions LLC".

Similar statutes are still "on the books in Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming," reports the New York Times.

Expect more heat over this one, even though the U.S. Suprement Court in 1952 ruled that “It is not the business of government in our nation to suppress real or imagined attacks upon a particular religious doctrine.”