Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, has written a bill that could put a person in jail for five years and fine them $5,000 for making knowingly false and malicious statements. Many empathize with politicians and their families who may be subjected to unfounded rumor or even outright lies, which can have a devastating effect. But criminalizing the comments isn't the way to solve the problem.

In today's cutthroat brand of politics, reputations built on years of private and public service often can be smeared by comments from unethical candidates, members of their campaign staff or just mean-spirited people. But the courts already have a remedy for such unfounded comments. The remedy is the civil courts.

Elliott makes a point saying that when people become candidates, they should expect to be "fair game for all kinds of questions, but that doesn't make them unfair game."

Elected officials and former elected officials in Beaufort have lamented for years that the discourse has gotten worse, that they are tired of being verbally flogged. While this bill may make Elliott feel better, it won't solve the problem.

But Elliott says libel laws aren't a real remedy for public officials because they are held to a higher standard. Even if a public official wins a slander case, Elliott told the Associated Press, and the person making the false charges has no assets, the slandered candidate would get nothing. His proposed criminal penalty would target those offenders.

In this country, citizens champion broad debate concerning the actions of public officials. Changing the law could allow politicians to use it to intimidate people.

While no one is in favor of malicious lies, few would be in favor of stifling public comments on the conduct of public officials, either. Elliott and other like-minded public officials would gain far more by convincing voters to ignore the liars and those who run ugly political campaigns. This bill deserves a swift death.