A lawmaker tried to ban memes and now the internet can't stop mocking her

Will HaskellJun 20, 2015, 03:22 IST

The people who make memes are not who you'd want as enemies.

A congresswoman in Mexico introduced a bill to punish meme-makers who mock Mexican life with fines up to $1,600 - and the internet community has predictably fired back with memes making fun of her.

Congresswoman Selma Guadalupe Gomez is the champion of the "anti-meme" law, a bill formally named the "Law of Civil Responsibility for the Protection of the Right to Private Life, Honor and the Image of the State of Sonora," reports Rafa Fernandez De Castro from Fusion.

Her goal is to protect the "moral patrimony" of the Mexican state Sonora by regulating social media content and fining offensive meme-makers. Fines can be as heavy as $1,600.

The meme community, known for its ability to levy sustained social media attacks on individuals, has lashed out against the Congresswoman.

Here are some of the memes that have been posted on Twitter.

"She proposed an anti-meme law... now she's been turned into one," this post reads.

"She was a representative," this one says, "today she's #ladymeme."Meme creators are using the hashtags #ladymeme and #nomeme. According to Fusion, #nomeme is a play on the Mexican expression "no mames," which loosely translates to, "You gotta be kidding me."

"A representative from Verde proposes regulation of memes," this one says. "No memes."

"My meme is so funny that I can't regulate it," this one says. If the anti-meme bill becomes a law, meme-makers will be fined if they inflict "unjustified damage to human dignity." It's unclear if the memes mocking Congresswoman Guadalupe Gomez meet the criteria - but the bill isn't expected to have much support.

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A lawmaker tried to ban memes and now the internet can't stop mocking her

Here are some of the memes that have been posted on Twitter.