Replies

Hrm, particularly ironic considering your screen-name; but the 10th would indicate this rightly is a State issue (esp that the 1st Amendment applies only to congress, the 14th cannot be held to apply to state or local government w/o magically changing 'Congress' to mean any Legislative body) -- but the PA Constitution says, in Art 1, Sec 7:

Section 7. - Freedom of Press and Speech; Libels The printing press shall be free to every person who may undertake to examine the proceedings of the Legislature or any branch of government, and no law shall ever by made to restrain the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may freely speak, write and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. No conviction shall be had in any prosecution for the publication of papers relating to the official conduct of officers or men in public capacity, or to any other matter proper for public investigation or information, where the fact that such publication was not maliciously or negligently made shall be established to the satisfaction of the jury; and in all indictments for libels the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases.

Thanks for volunteering that excerpt from PA Constitution.

And speaking powers reserved to the states, or to the people, it would be interesting to see possible zoning restrictions or other restrictions for Independence Hall area.

As a side note concerning free speech not being absolute, consider that there is no free speech as the people in this example were practicing it in a court of law in session.

Getting back to example of this thread, I would also like to hear law enforcement arguments. Maybe law enforcement personnel, possibly constitutionally ignorant, just did what they were taught to do without asking questions.