What First Amendment
From Pimme comes a troubling article about the First Amendment (if it still exists) under attack. Check out this article:
Officer Threatens To Arrest Woman For Anti-Bush Sticker
POSTED: 1:42 pm EST January 25, 2005
DENVER -- Some people are angry when they see Shasta Bates' derogatory bumper sticker about President George W. Bush -- but she didn't think she'd be threatened with arrest because of it.
The Denver Police Department is investigating a sergeant who allegedly threatened to arrest the 26-year-old for displaying the [anti-Bush] bumper sticker.
Bates said she was told by the sergeant Tuesday that her bumper sticker was illegal because it was profane. She said he told her he'd arrest her if she didn't remove it.
But City Attorney Cole Finegan said he doesn't believe there's any city ordinance against displaying a profane bumper sticker.
Colorado ACLU Legal Director Mark Silverstein said the alleged threat of arrest clearly violates First Amendment protection.
First, I'm dying to know what the bumper sticker said, and wondering if it's one of the 11 ones that I have and rotate on and off my car. If not, where did she get it. ;-) Seriously, what is wrong with the world? And Denver, Colorado isn't what I'd think of as super conservative. My gosh, remember those "Shit Happens" bumper stickers a while back? (Did I totally show my age?) Was this cop arresting people for those? Or just political messages that he doesn't appreciate? I knew the Patriot Act did some damage, but COME ON already!!
Officer Threatens To Arrest Woman For Anti-Bush Sticker
POSTED: 1:42 pm EST January 25, 2005
DENVER -- Some people are angry when they see Shasta Bates' derogatory bumper sticker about President George W. Bush -- but she didn't think she'd be threatened with arrest because of it.
The Denver Police Department is investigating a sergeant who allegedly threatened to arrest the 26-year-old for displaying the [anti-Bush] bumper sticker.
Bates said she was told by the sergeant Tuesday that her bumper sticker was illegal because it was profane. She said he told her he'd arrest her if she didn't remove it.
But City Attorney Cole Finegan said he doesn't believe there's any city ordinance against displaying a profane bumper sticker.
Colorado ACLU Legal Director Mark Silverstein said the alleged threat of arrest clearly violates First Amendment protection.
First, I'm dying to know what the bumper sticker said, and wondering if it's one of the 11 ones that I have and rotate on and off my car. If not, where did she get it. ;-) Seriously, what is wrong with the world? And Denver, Colorado isn't what I'd think of as super conservative. My gosh, remember those "Shit Happens" bumper stickers a while back? (Did I totally show my age?) Was this cop arresting people for those? Or just political messages that he doesn't appreciate? I knew the Patriot Act did some damage, but COME ON already!!
posted by -Me @ 1/26/2005 04:50:00 PM
5 Comments:
At 10:16 PM,
Scarlett said…
I thought it a laugh that Bush swore to defend the constitution when he so obviously is not. I have heard of many arrests due to anti-bush sentiment. Scary.
At 7:31 AM,
Anonymous said…
I'm still trying to find an article that says exactly what was on the bumper sticker. But, I guess we'll never know...
http://pimme.blog-city.com
At 9:18 AM,
Matthew said…
Well, Colorado's a definite red state these days, and as Denver is one of the largest - if not the largest - metropolitan area in the state, I'm not too surprised by this article. Outraged? Yes. Surprised? No. As a matter of fact, I'm a little taken aback that it hasn't happened more places.
We need to understand: Republicans, conservatives, call them what you will, want no dissent. Period. I was driving to work the other day and passed a car with which had two bumper stickers. One was a Bush/Cheney '04 sticker, and the other was one which I hadn't seen before. It said: Bush - My Hero. This is what we're dealing with, folks.
At 12:25 AM,
-Me said…
Yay Jennie for discovering the mystery. (That was my friend's guess. He said, "It's so obvious; I'm surprised that you didn't guess that immediately." I said that the obscure I see eventionally, the completely obvious takes me more time.)
Mac, I agree. Bush can say the right things sometimes, but it totally conflicts with his actions.
Matt, I also think that Colorado isn't firmly red. It's a swing state. There are times when it had a chance of going blue. It isn't Mississippi or anything....
At 11:16 AM,
Matthew said…
What's the definition of a swing state?
Out of the 15 post-WWII elections (1948-2004), Colorada has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate three times, and the Republican candidate twelve times. It went for the Dem in 1948, 1964 and 1992. Um, I wouldn't really count on Colorado to swing too much, although maybe I don't understand what a swing state is?
Take care.
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