Showing posts with label US Constitution 01 Amendment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Constitution 01 Amendment. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff The Tentacle: SCOTUS Westboro Decision - A Victory for Free Speech?

March 4, 2011

A Victory for Free Speech?
By a vote of 8-1, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long awaited decision Wednesday over the collision of free speech, common sense and decency and our right to privacy in the case of Albert Snyder v. Fred W. Phelps, Sr., and the Westboro Baptist Church.

The Supreme Court ruled against the father of Westminster native Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, whose March 10, 2006, funeral was picketed by members of the Kansas-based church. Corporal Snyder was 20 years-old when he died March 3, 2006, in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

The irony abounds that the Westboro band of graceless sociopaths have chosen over the years to disparage and heap emotional abuse on families at the funerals of the very men and women in uniform, who have died defending the right of these creeps to exercise their right to free speech.

The controversy that initiated the test of the limits of free speech began shortly after Snyder’s death. In a paroxysmal milieu, the Snyder family is an otherwise unlikely fulcrum for all this drama... http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4265





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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Missing atheist sign found in Washington state By Mallory Simon CNN

Missing atheist sign found in Washington state By Mallory Simon CNN

Fri December 5, 2008

For those of us who are aggressive protectors of the right to free speech, we have to wonder what it is that the atheists wish to accomplish...

Having said that, I understand that intent is certainly not an arbiter of the expression of free speech. However, manipulating some obscure interpretation of equal opportunity in order to attack Christmas, is certainly a unique approach to attempting to be compelling and persuasive about one’s cause…

Story Highlights

NEW: Placard from Washington state Capitol found in a ditch, radio station says

Atheists' place placard was next to Nativity scene in Olympia, Washington, building

Sign calls religion a myth that "hardens hearts and enslaves minds"

Some residents, Christian groups say atheists attacking celebration of Jesus' birth

Don't Miss: iReport.com:
Over-the-top holiday displays?

(CNN) -- An atheist sign criticizing Christianity that was erected alongside a Nativity scene was taken from the Legislative Building in Olympia, Washington, on Friday and later found in a ditch.

An employee from country radio station KMPS-FM in Seattle told CNN the sign was dropped off at the station by someone who found it in a ditch.

"I thought it would be safe," Freedom From Religion Foundation co-founder Annie Laurie Gaylor told CNN earlier Friday. "It's always a shock when your sign is censored or stolen or mutilated. It's not something you get used to."

The sign, which celebrates the winter solstice, has had some residents and Christian organizations calling atheists Scrooges because they said it was attacking the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth.

"Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds," the sign from the Freedom From Religion Foundation says in part.

The sign, which was at the Legislative Building at 6:30 a.m. PT, was gone by 7:30 a.m., Gaylor said.

[…]

The scene in Washington state is not unfamiliar. Barker has had signs in Madison, Wisconsin, for 13 years. The placard is often turned around so the message can't be seen, and one year, someone threw acid on it, forcing the group to encase it in Plexiglas.

In Washington, D.C., the American Humanist Association began a bus ad campaign this month questioning belief in God.

"Why believe in a God?" the advertisement asks. "Just be good for goodness sake."

That ad has caused the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to field hundreds of complaints, the group said, but it has heard just as much positive feedback, said Fred Edwords, the association's spokesman.

Edwords said the ad campaign, which features a shrugging Santa Claus, was not meant to attack Christmas but rather to reach out to an untapped audience.

[…]

Read the entire article here: Missing atheist sign found in Washington state By Mallory Simon CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/05/atheists.christmas/?iref=mpstoryview

20081205 Missing atheist sign found in Washington state

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Merry Christmas from the Left Red White and Impeach

Merry Christmas from the Left Red White and Impeach

December 2, 2008

Apparently the left does not rest for the holidays.

For those of us who feel passionately about the right to free speech, we also understand that it comes with responsibilities.

Memo: I’d love to see the elite media’s reaction if something like this were to occur during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Hat Tip: Don Surber: “Maturity” “Ornament maker does something inappropriate. The White House refuses to retaliate.”

Read on, according to Christmas Colors for the White House: Red, White and Impeach,” By The Reliable Source December 2, 2008:

[…]

Laura Bush asked members of Congress to pick local painters to decorate ornaments for this year's 20-foot Fraser fir in the Blue Room. The globes (to be unveiled by the first lady tomorrow) are supposed to showcase something special about each congressional district. Washington state's Rep. Jim McDermott contacted a local arts organization, which asked Lawrence, a collage artist, to create the local entry.

"I was at first nauseated, then realized it was an opportunity," said Lawrence, 55, who frequently combines politics and satire in her work and saw this as the perfect way "to highlight Jim McDermott because he's a hero of mine."

The nine-inch ball is covered with swirly red and white stripes -- and, in tiny glued-on text, salutes the Democratic congressman's support for a resolution to impeach President Bush.

See a picture of it here.

Sally McDonough, the first lady's press secretary, said yesterday that hundreds of ornaments were submitted for display and there were no plans to pull Lawrence's artwork or her invitation. But, she said, "it really is too bad. I haven't seen the ornament, but I would hope that no one would take this as an opportunity to be divisive and partisan. There is a time and place for everything, and I don't think this is either."

Read the entire account here: “Christmas Colors for the White House: Red, White and Impeach

And be sure to read Don Surber’s post also: “Maturity

And be sure to read all the comments...

Commenter “dhender999aolcom” said: “When Deborah Lawrence arrives in the White House she will be treated graciously by her hosts, because that is the nature of George W and Laura Bush…”

“olukemi": said: “I applaud Deborah Lawrence for her courage in celebrating her equally forthright Congressman. Freedom of speech does not take a rest on Christmas. Happy Holidays to all!”

Then in a flourish of the holiday spirit, “editwest” wrote: “To dehender999@aol.com: ‘Gracious’ people do not steal elections, subvert the Rule of Law and the judiciary and the Department of Justice, attack and occupy sovereign states for imperialist goals, profit from the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, order the death/maiming of tens of thousands of our own troops in a war of naked aggression forged in lies, loot the treasury and destroy the futures of America's children, channel fortunes to cronies, attack the Constitution and its protections against tyranny, destroy America's position in world opinion, and so much more. Gracious people don't do these things. Thugs and ghouls do.”


Nice.

Oh Merry Christmas

20081202 Merry Christmas from the left Red White and Impeach

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Police prevent more Md. pro-lifers from sharing message

Police prevent more Md. pro-lifers from sharing message

Related: 20081027 Group files free speech lawsuit against Westminster Schelle

Home > ADF News Center > Press Release

ADF attorneys file suit against city of Westminster for demanding permits to exercise free speech

Friday, October 24, 2008, 8:12 AM (MST)

ADF Media Relations 480-444-0020

Related Links

Permit requirement for pro-life signs suspended in Harford County, Md.

BALTIMORE — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys and allied attorneys filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of Westminster on behalf of pro-life organization Defend Life. Police insisted that participants in Defend Life’s “Face the Truth” 2008 tour needed permits to peacefully share their pro-life message along a public street.

“Pro-life advocates shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs. The government can’t require them to obtain permits to exercise their First Amendment rights,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster.

In June, Defend Life Director Elizabeth Walsh and volunteers contacted the Westminster Police Department more than two weeks before their planned demonstration—making sure it was in adherence to the law. Police told them that they needed permits from the city and the Maryland State Highway Administration, as well as permission from the owner of a nearby shopping center. Subsequently, a police captain told Defend Life that its permit requests would be denied and refused to provide an explanation.

“Pro-lifers shouldn’t be denied their free speech rights simply because some people don’t approve of their message. That’s a textbook violation of the First Amendment,” said ADF-allied attorney Owen M. Taylor, who is assisting with the case.

Defend Life held its “Face the Truth” tour this summer throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia. Participants wore pro-life T-shirts, held signs, and occasionally shared their message verbally along the road to motorists.

A copy of the complaint filed in the lawsuit Walsh v. City of Westminster is available at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/WalshComplaint.pdf.

On Sept. 3, ADF attorneys filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of three young women who were arrested, jailed, shackled, and strip-searched after demonstrating on the last day of the Defend Life 2008 tour. A federal judge approved an agreement on Oct. 10 that prohibits enforcement of a permit requirement involved in that case while the court considers its constitutionality (
www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4708).

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

www.telladf.org

Note: Facts in ADF news releases are verified prior to publication but may change over time. Members of the media are encouraged to contact ADF for the latest information on this matter.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/pressrelease.aspx?cid=4721

20081024 Police prevent more Md pro lifers from sharing message

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Group files free speech lawsuit against Westminster by Charles Schelle


Attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund last week filed a suit on behalf of a pro-life group, Defend Life, against the City of Westminster contending that the city violated the group’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The disagreement is over a planned demonstration on July 30, 2008, by Defend Life as part of its “Face the Truth” tour to spread a pro-life message.

Defend Life is a non-profit, pro-life organization based in Baltimore. The group is seeking to get the city to change the wording of its ordinance regarding demonstrations, and also any damages prescribed by the court.

According to a copy of the lawsuit, filed Thursday, Oct. 23 in the District Court of Maryland, Elizabeth Walsh of Owings Mills, director of Defend Life’s tour, said the Westminster Police Department told the organization they would have to have permits from the city, State Highway Administration and permission of a shopping center located near the intersection of Route 140 and Englar Road in order to stage a demonstration.

However, the lawsuit contends that the SHA does not require such a permit, and the city did not grant the group a permit.

Defend Life says the requirements “chilled” the group’s free speech and equal protection rights.

[...]

Read the rest of Mr. Schelle’s article here: Group files free speech lawsuit against Westminster by Charles Schelle

20081027 Group files free speech lawsuit against Westminster Schelle