Posted on 02/24/2004 4:05:04 PM PST by Libloather
Bush critics worry their protests will be shielded
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 8:25AM EST
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Activists planning to protest President Bush's fund-raising visit on Thursday to Charlotte are concerned that they won't be allowed near him.
Around the country, protesters say they've found themselves put in "free speech zones" at Bush appearances, out of sight of the president and the reporters covering him.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued to stop the practice.
"If you're in a sea of people carrying signs that say, 'Yes,' you should be able to have a sign that says, 'No,'" said Seth Jaffe, managing attorney of the ACLU of North Carolina.
Police have told protesters they'll be allowed across the street from Bush's $2,000-a-plate fund-raiser at the Charlotte Convention Center on Thursday. Capt. Terry Sult said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police take the First Amendment seriously.
"Our goal is very clear," Sult said, "to let the protesters get their message out but also protect the rights of others."
Demonstrators say they are concerned that will change once the Secret Service gets involved, although the agency says it leaves decisions about managing protesters up to local police.
"I don't know that President Bush will ever catch a glimpse of us, but hopefully the people attending will," said Joan Thieda, a Democratic activist organizing the protest. "Otherwise, the public doesn't know that anybody disagrees with the president."
Charlotte City Council delayed Monday a decision on a proposed ordinance that requires activists to apply for a permit before a demonstration and to provide at least four days' notice of a protest with more than 25 people.
The ACLU has sued to stop the zones, which led to the conviction last month of a South Carolina activist who refused to take his protest sign half a mile from a Bush visit in Columbia. He's appealing the decision.
"I think 9-11 has been used to frighten people and to bolster the claims of a greater need for security," said Lewis Pitts, an attorney representing S.C. activist Brett Bursey on federal charges.
The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in September, citing 13 instances in which anti-Bush protesters were arrested or forced into remote "free speech zones." Bush backers or the general public closer to the president went unchallenged.
Bursey was found guilty last month after being arrested in October 2002 with a "No Blood for Oil" sign. Bursey refused a Secret Service agent's order to move to a zone half a mile from the airport where the president was speaking. The Secret Service said he was too close to Bush's motorcade.
The judge fined Bursey $500, far below the maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Bursey is appealing to district court in Columbia.
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Information from: The Charlotte Observer,
http://www.charlotteobserver.com
Activists Challenge Democrats' Plan to Restrict Protests at Convention
NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, Feb. 20, 2004
BOSTON – Attorneys are challenging a preliminary security plan for this summer's Democratic National Convention that would limit protesters to a small patch of land virtually out of sight of the convention hall. The plan would restrict protests to a triangle-shaped site near FleetCenter, which attorneys fear could be obscured from view by buses and television satellite trucks, making demonstrations useless.
Well Joanie, we disagree with your Party's choice for president too!
B*LLSH*T ALERT!!!!!
All the papers have been carrying the last few weeks is, "Bush lied about Iraq," "Bush lied about this," "Bush lied about that," "Bush is a deserter," "Bush kisses corporations' *ss*s"...
This man is a fool.
Make sure you hit her Heinous in the heiny! ;-)
Ain't nuthin' a big booming voice can't do...
Incidentally those who consider Bush to be a poor public speaker should have heard Gore rant. He gave one of the worst halting, stumbling campaign spiels I've ever heard. I heard Bush speak later in the year, and although he did mix up a few lines ("give dreams to wings"...we all inwardly groaned after that one), he managed to get through his standard campaign stump speech with an effective message.
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