Colorado Springs is "home to the greatest concentration of fundamentalist Christian activist groups in American history" according to Harper's Magazine. It also doesn't like people marching with a bookmobile and wearing green. Not if they are carrying peace signs.
A local peace group had purchased a permit to march in Saturday's St. Patrick's Day Parade but as they started down the parade route and organizers saw the signs advocating peace and out of Iraq now the organizers asked the police to make them leave. Most of the group complied but some arguments ensued. Seven peace marchers went limp and dropped to the road as a non-violent protest of their constitutional free speech rights being ignored. These were dragged away and arrested. Some minor injuries occurred while people were being dragged away.
Parade organizers said the protester's permit did not make clear it was a protest group applying. The march organizers say they allow political speech but not social protests or statements. It will be interesting to see how that plays in court.
How embarrassing that Colorado Springs is going to be shamed in the national media for not knowing the Constitution and police brutality on peaceful marchers.
How did seeing signs advocating peace hurt anyone? How did people dropping and adopting nonviolent resistance limpness merit police brutality? Shame.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, or of the press; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.I hope some of the people locked up find a good lawyer and instruct the police and some parade leaders on the law.
No comments:
Post a Comment