The Internet has been alight all day with news and protest over two terrifying congressional acts. SOPA and PIPA threaten more than just foreign websites which facilitate piracy. If the dramatic effect of today’s Wikipedia blackout is any indication, they threaten the very fabric of the Internet’s existence. Imagine a world where you can no longer share your latest music cover with friends on YouTube, hoping to make it big by attracting the attention of record companies. A world where speaking with your grandparents on Facebook via webcam is impossible because Facebook simply doesn’t exist. The modern conveniences afforded by the Internet have done more than make our lives easier. In fact, to say they have fundamentally changed the way we live is a gross understatement.

Your representatives in the House and Senators in the Senate are there to serve you. Yes, they are leaders, but make no mistake: the traditional idea of democracy places them at your mercy. If we the American people do not agree with the direction our country is moving in, with the legislation being proposed by those who represent us, it is their duty to respect that and act on our behalf.

To politicians, votes speak louder than almost anything. For that reason, I have decided to aid the readers of Vivid Gamer by listing the names of every House representative that supports SOPA and every senator who co-sponsors PIPA. Use this knowledge to your advantage during future elections; those who support legislation that threatens free knowledge and the expansion of mankind do not deserve your vote.

H.R.3261 STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT BILL CO-SPONSORS

INTRODUCED BY REP LAMAR SMITH (R-TX)

• Rep Mark E. Amodei (R-NV)
• Rep Joe Baca (D-CA)
• Rep John Barrow (D-GA)
• Rep Karen Bass (D-CA)
• Rep Howard L. Berman (D-CA)
• Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
• Rep Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)
• Rep John R. Carter (R-TX)
• Rep Steve Chabot (R-OH)
• Rep Judy Chu (D-CA)
• Rep John Conyers Jr. (D-MI)
• Rep Jim Cooper (D-TN)
• Rep Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL)
• Rep Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
• Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
• Rep Tim Griffin (R-AK)
• Rep Tim Holden (D-PA)
• Rep Peter T. King (R-NY)
• Rep John B. Larson (D-CT)
• Rep Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)
• Rep Tom Marino (R-PA)
• Rep Alan Nunnelee (R-MS)
• Rep William L. Owens (D-NY)
• Rep Dennis Ross (D-AK)
• Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA)
• Rep Adam B. Schiff (D-CA)
• Rep Brad Sherman (D-CA)
• Rep Lee Terry (R-NE)
• Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
• Rep Melvin L. Watt (D-NC)
•  Rep Benjamin Quayle (R-AZ) (withdrew 1/17/2012)

S.968 PROTECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ACT BILL CO-SPONSORS

INTRODUCED BY SEN PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT)

• Sen Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
• Sen Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
• Sen Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)
• Sen Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
• Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
• Sen Roy Blunt (R-MO)
• Sen John Boozman (R-AR)
• Sen Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
• Sen Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
• Sen Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
• Sen Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA)
• Sen Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
• Sen Thad Cochran (R-MS)
• Sen Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)
• Sen Bob Corker (R-TN)
• Sen Richard Durbin (D-IL)
• Sen Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)
• Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
• Sen Al Franken (D-MN)
• Sen Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY)
• Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
• Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
• Sen Kay Hagan (D-NC)
• Sen Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT)
• Sen Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
• Sen Tim Johnson (D-SD)
• Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
• Sen Herb Kohl (D-WI)
• Sen Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA)
• Sen Joseph I. Lieberman (ID-CT)
• Sen John McCain (R-AZ)
• Sen Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
• Sen Bill Nelson (D-NE)
• Sen James E. Risch (R-ID)
• Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL)
• Sen Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
• Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
• Sen Tom Udall (D-NM)
• Sen David Vitter (R-LA)
• Sen Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
• Sen Jerry Moran (R-KS) (withdrew 6/27/2011)

Contacting your representatives and making sure you speak with your vote is important, but it’s also imperative to understand which companies and corporations have a stake in SOPA and have thrown their lot behind it. The following is a list of major corporations and companies that support SOPA. I personally urge you to speak with your dollar and let your voice be heard through the decisions you make as a consumer.

• 60 Plus Association
• ABC
• Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
• Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP)
• American Bankers Association (ABA)
• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
• American Federation of Musicians (AFM)
• American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)
• American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA)
• American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
• Americans for Tax Reform
• Association of American Publishers (AAP)
• Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies
• Beachbody, LLC
• BMG Chrysalis
• BMI
• Building and Construction Trades Department
• Capitol Records Nashville
• CBS
• Cengage Learning
• Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF)
• Christian Music Trade Association
• Church Music Publishers’ Association
• Coalition Against Online Video Piracy (CAOVP)
• Comcast/NBCUniversal
• Concerned Women for America (CWA)
• Congressional Fire Services Institute
• Copyhype
• Copyright Alliance
• Coty, Inc.
• Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB)
• Council of State Governments
• Country Music Association
• Country Music Television
• Creative America
• Deluxe
• Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
• Directors Guild of America (DGA)
• Disney Publishing Worldwide, Inc.
• Elsevier
• EMI Christian Music Group
• EMI Music Publishing
• Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
• ESPN
• Estée Lauder Companies
• Gospel Music Association
• Graphic Artists Guild
• Hachette Book Group
• HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, Inc.
• Hyperion
• Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians,
• Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE)
• International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC)
• International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
• International Trademark Association (INTA)
• International Union of Police Associations
• L’Oreal
• Let Freedom Ring
• Lost Highway Records
• Macmillan
• Major County Sheriffs
• Major League Baseball
• Majority City Chiefs
• Marvel Entertainment, LLC
• MasterCard Worldwide
• MCA Records
• McGraw-Hill Education
• Mercury Nashville
• Minor League Baseball (MiLB)
• Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC)
• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
• MPA – The Association of Magazine Media
• National Association of Fusion Center Directors
• National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
• National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators
• National Association of State Chief Information Officers
• National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO)
• National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)
• National Center for Victims of Crime
• National Criminal Justice Association3
• National District Attorneys Association
• National Domestic Preparedness Coalition
• National Football League
• National Narcotics Officers’ Associations’ Coalition
• National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA)
• National Songwriters Association
• National Troopers Coalition
• News Corporation
• Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU)
• Pearson Education
• Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
• Pfizer, Inc.
• Provident Music Group
• Random House
• Republic Nashville
• Revlon
• Scholastic, Inc.
• Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
• Showdog Universal Music
• Simon & Schuster
• Sony/ATV Music Publishing
• Sony Music Entertainment
• Sony Music Nashville
• State International Development Organization (SIDO)
• The Perseus Books Groups
• The United States Conference of Mayors
• Tiffany & Co.
• Time Warner
• True Religion Brand Jeans
• Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
• UMG Publishing Group Nashville
• United States Chamber of Commerce
• United States Olympic Committee
• United States Tennis Association
• Universal Music
• Universal Music Publishing Group
• Viacom
• Visa Inc.
• W.W. Norton & Company
• Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, L.P.
• Warner Music Group
• Warner Music Nashville
• Wolters Kluewer Health
• Word Entertainment 4
• Zumba Fitness, LLC

Thank you for tuning in to Vivid Gamer for SOPA and PIPA coverage all day. The staff of Vivid Gamer sincerely thanks all of its readers for their dedication to this pivotal issue.

[Sources: United States House of Representatives, Library of Congress, Rep Lamar Smith (R-TX)]