Saturday, July 23, 2011
Human rights NLR enforces 'free speech' zone?
Posted by Max Brantley on Sat, Jul 23, 2011 at 5:04 PM
A group of demonstrators went out to be seen during the Arkansas Republicans' fund-raising riverboat ride on the Arkansas River Friday night with the Republican national chairman. Sounds like they were not welcomed by city officials, who, according to a letter from Samuel Kauffman, tried to invoke a George Bush-style "free speech zone" to move demonstrators far from the sight of Republican revelers. Bad show, if true. His letter:
The North Little Rock Police and Visitors Bureau should be ashamed of their unconstitutional and un-American actions on Friday. Approximately 60 concerned Arkansans peacefully rallied at Riverfront Park to protest the corrupt and ineffective policies advocated by the Republican Party. Our diverse group advocated the dignity of workers, the value of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and education, and the need to raise taxes on the rich.This message and the peaceful way in which it was advocated butted heads with the authoritarian practices of the NLRPD and Bureau. As we marched toward the Arkansas Queen (where the Republicans were holding their event), a Bureau representative, with police in tow, told us that our group was not allowed to leave a designated area approximately four hundred feet away from the ship. This incident was the first unconstitutional act by the police and Bureau. Ten of us left the main group and stood within sight and shouting distance of the Republicans. Again, the Visitors Bureau and police attempted to make us leave. We explained that we left the larger group and were ten independent citizens voicing our First Amendment protected rights of free speech and assembly. After asking for an officer’s badge number, the police and Bureau stopped their unconstitutional harassment.
This conduct by the NLRPD and Visitors Bureau is outrageous and undemocratic. Their actions seem more at home in dictatorships like Iran or China than in democratic and free Arkansas. It goes against the very nature of our Republic, and it violates the purpose of police and government. The entire group should have been allowed to assemble peacefully anywhere in the public park, as the Constitution encourages.
The demonstrators were noticed by the GOP party crowd, based on Twitter feeds I saw last night.
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Comments (20)
Showing 1-20 of 20
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Interesting to note that cops and their bosses don't invoke "free speech zones" when
Ralph Phelps and his gang of homophobic hooligans come to disgrace and disrupt a fallen soldier's funeral.
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"During the 1988 Democratic National Convention, the city of Atlanta set up an official "free speech area"[5] so the convention would not be disrupted. A pro-choice demonstrator against an Operation Rescue group said Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young "put us in a free-speech cage."[6] "Protest zones" were used during the 1992 and 1996 United States presidential nominating conventions.
wikipedia
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Amazing how these damn zones just pop up at the craziest times! The North Little Rock Visitors Bureau has authority to tell police to restrict the free speech rights of citizens?
Wonder what the police thought when the R's are running roughshod over all the other public employees across our country in states like Wisconsin and others? Wonder if they really wanted to do that?
Sorry if the R's little soiree had to experience some discomfort because the down-trodden decided to speak their mind. Fuck 'em.
I agree you should have been able to peacefully assemble and protest, however, you talking about the 1st amendment while disregarding other amendments is hypocrisy to the max. At least three of the things you mentioned are not even constitutional to begin with; i.e. education, medicaid, medicare. The Department of Education is unconstitutional, as are both medicare and medicaid. Do some reading, studying, and perhaps you will learn that so called "entitlement" programs stop being effective once the government runs out of other peoples money. That's the only reason you're wanting to tax the rich, just to keep the welfare roles intact when they are bringing down the country, as well as unjust, unconstitutional wars and corrupt politicians from both major parties. It must be nice to pick and choose which parts of the Constitution you want to enjoy, while tossing the root of it into the flames of stupidity and ignorance.
TJ, do you understand the use of paragraphs and factual statements? Not to mention spelling, punctuation, and other aspects of grammar?
Ahhh, never mind. I know that answer. Now go back to your bridge.
Besides, stay on topic and we might pay attention to your posts.
This "Tom Jefferson" is clearly no relation to the real Tom Jefferson (in intellect, for sure).
Funny stuff, "Tom".
Actually, education IS a constitutional right under the state constitution. Do some reading and studying and maybe you'll learn something, Thomas Jefferson.
Why does this only happen in America (among advanced countries) and why do Americans still believe they live in e free country? And why o why is there not a single honest conservative to be seen far and wide who would come out and simply say, sorry this was wrong, instead of ranting like a teenager, appropriating (and putting to shame) the name Jefferson to boot?
It was all a big misunderstanding...the 60 protesters were "hot" men that Princella Smith conned into coming to meet her at the event who then decided to protest her misrepresentation of herself as a "hottie". (Check out Jason Tolbert's account of her twitter rant!) It wasn't about the Republicans at all...it was all about Princella...which is just the way she likes it.
I had a very good time at that demonstration, and part of the fun was ignoring the obviously unlawful orders of the police.
TJ wishes all to forget and ignore the preambler to the Constitution as he lectures on the topic, Perhaps TJ is a graduate of Hillsdale College where this is a rampant belief.
Judging from the Facebook feed last night there were some news media in LR & NLR saying it was an angry dangerous mob that got out of hand and had to be contained by the police.
The poster pointed out there was a lot of elderly people in the "mob" and don't you know the elderly are more dangerous than the New Black Panthers.
I fear that when Fox News is gone we're still going to suffer from 22 year old reporters making mountains out of elderly mole hills. How low can this country go? We're fixin to find out.
NormaB since you were still a spark in daddy's eye back then Ralph Phelps was a Baptist minister. He was also president of Quachita Baptist College in Arkadelphia back then.
He headed the drive to defeat a Arkansas Constitutional amendment in 1967 or '68 that would have legalized casino gambling in Garland County, seat is Hot Springs.
Ralph and the Baptists won. Shortly thereafter he was hired as a regional head of some large federal project overseeing programs in seven states. Las Vegas always takes care of their own, usu with OPM.
Aside from the heat, it was fun. I enjoyed being with likeminded people and I enjoyed waving at the Republicans as they drove in. That's the big secret about most demonstrations--they're not only the right thing to do, they're also a good time. (That's assuming the police don't get told to riot, in which case it's less fun.)
I got to the event a little late and, having parked on Main, walked up to exactly where the police didn't want people to be. I stood there by myself for a few minutes looking around. No one seemed to mind. I was about to walk down to where the demonstrators were--I could see them, barely, off in the distance--when I realized some of them were coming my way.
Shortly after they arrived, the parks guy (I felt bad for him--he was doing a job no one had prepped him for) said we were in the wrong place and had to leave. This was pretty silly, as the area we were in was completely open. It was next to a trail for biking and running. People using it were coming through the area where the Republicans were parking.
Anyway, the police came by to back the parks guy up. I decided I'd rather picket on the walkway, and said so. A couple of us did that while other folks spent some time discussing the finer points of constitutional law with the parks guy and the police. It was an interesting talk, but I wanted to move around.
After a bit, a couple of the other demonstrators decided to walk out onto the side of the street, over near (but not too near) where the Republicans were driving in. I joined them, and we spent the next half-hour waving at the Republicans and holding up our signs. Most of them were not visibly hostile--of course, it's easy to be nice when you think you're on top.
Eventually, I walked down to the main demonstration and hung out. Nice folks. I enjoyed meeting them. I'm hoping they throw another shindig soon.
The problem with the event was that the Organizers reserved an area in Riverfront several hundred yards away from the boat dock and entrance. NLRPD and NLR parks were quite happy with that saying something to the effect that they were there to "make sure that everyone had their own space and would not bother each other."
but the event organizers seemed content with what was offered by the NLRPD.
About 25% of the protesters were not there "not to bother anyone" and went on down within shouting distance of the boat anyway. I think the NLRPD let us stay because that would be less disruptive than manually removing us.
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