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Anti-Bush protesters sue Secret Service
The American Civil Liberties Union (Judicial Arm of the Democratic Party) asked the federal courts Tuesday to prevent the U.S. Secret Service from keeping anti-Bush protesters far away from presidential appearances while allowing supporters to display their messages up close.Care to guess how this will go? The civil liberties group filed the lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania on behalf of four advocacy organizations that claimed that the Secret Service forced them into protest zones or other areas where they could not be seen by President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney or be noticed by the media covering their visits. And darn it they want to see us! "The pattern we found was at presidential and vice presidential appearances, protesters were restricted to areas where they were out of sight, out of earshot and often out of mind," said Witold J. Walczak, legal director for the ACLUâs Greater Pittsburgh chapter. And this is a bad thing? "Protecting our nationâs leaders from harm is important. Protecting our nationâs leaders from dissent is unconstitutional." Said Secret Service spokesman John Gill: "The Secret Service does not comment on pending litigation. However, we have a long-standing policy of recognizing the constitutionally-protected right of the public to demonstrate and voice their views to their elected officials." Translation: Go F&^* Yourself! The ACLU complaint lists several incidents where protesters were forced to assemble blocks away from where the president or vice president was speaking, while supporters of the administrationâs policy could hold their signs up in front of the building. They cited examples across the country, including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Columbia, South Carolina; Phoenix, Arizona; Stockton, California; and St. Louis, Missouri. I call that prudent. The plaintiffs are the National Organization for Women; United for Peace and Justice, an anti-war group; ACORN, an advocacy organization for low and moderate-income families; and USAction, an advocacy group that supports universal health care and better public education and opposes the Iraq war and Bushâs tax cuts. Also included are the following groups: Supporters To Unify People Interested Dissidents S.T.U.P.I.D. Lesbians Or Sadists Engaging Radical Statements L.O.S.E.R.S. War Investigators Making Progress and Solidarity W.I.M.P.S. All-knowing Nobodies Usurping the System A.N.U.S. They all have a really really good chance of Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-09-23 |
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