Posted on 01/18/2005 8:07:35 PM PST by FairOpinion
WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Supporters of President George W. Bush have a right to reserve prime positions along the inaugural parade route and do not have to share them with protesters, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling by District Court Judge Paul Friedman is a setback for an anti-war coalition called ANSWER, which had sued the government for greater public access to the inaugural parade on Thursday.
Authorities plan to close off 100 blocks in downtown Washington and use bomb-sniffing dogs and military troopers for the first inaugural event since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Those who provided funds for the $40 million inauguration ceremony will view the parade from reserved bleachers lining much of Pennsylvania Avenue, between the Capitol and the White House.
ANSWER, an acronym for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, said the bleachers left little space for protesters or ordinary citizens who might want to view the parade.
"The sidewalks, for this particular moment, should be open to all," said ANSWER attorney Carl Messineo.
The judge said, however, that the National Park Service was acting appropriately by controlling access. "It's clear, as I think it always has been, that the official inaugural parade and the bleachers connected with it get the bulk of the space," he said.
The Park Service has given ANSWER a space along the parade route, next to the courthouse where the case was argued. Eight other spots have also been set aside for protesters.
Protesters will have the right to distribute literature and carry signs, but the Secret Service will not allow them to be held aloft on sticks or poles that could be used as weapons.
See earlier article:
Related article, on CNN, with FR mentioned:
'Counter-Inaugural' revving up
Dozens of groups converging on Washington for protests
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/18/inauguration.protests/
Not all the demonstrations planned for Thursday will protest the president.
The D.C. Chapter of Free Republic has secured permits to offer what it is calling safe-haven zones near Pennsylvania Avenue, "to differentiate [it] from the anti-American, leftist protesters who will be scattered along the parade route."
No dammit, they deserve to be on the Capitol steps hitting the President and his family with sticks. First Amendment, doncha know?
How about somewhere in the Mohave?
Ping just in case you haven't already seen this article.
Protesting the Inauguration Celebration in is like crashing your ex-girlfriend's wedding and shouting obscenities at the preacher.
Fush Buck .....
all these dweeds should be encouraged to protest their okoles off ! in Golden Gate Park.....
sassy mouthed spoiled rotten babies of a pussywhipped
liberal mommy-daddy nursey nursey culture ....get a life.
Sorry that I'm on the west coast - I love shooting moving targets (although I'm not that proficient a shot and have been known to gut shoot 'rats in the past ;'}
In other words....tit for tat, MF'rs!
We don't issue permits to terrorists either.
I don't even know why I look at their sites....I shake my head in disbelief that people could be so stupid and so full of hate. They're pathetic.
Then I read FreeRepublic....very informative, and people are so intelligent. Sometimes I fall off my chair laughing at the clever comments. It makes my day! I have to admit that I've been addicted since September.
Praying for W and a wonderful inauguration day!
bttt
Excellent !!
Lol...And then they'd complain the sticks "weren't big enough."
The true owner of the buckfush.com website, not only is threatening aviation, but has previously hassled our troops in Afghanistan using a phony address that was a local GOP headquarters. Click here to see that story on Blackfire blog.
Thanks fot the ping.
Some lib woman from Counter-Inaugural.org was on Hannity & Colmes last night complaining that protestors would be forced to the 4th and Penn location. She falsly claimed that you would have to show bleacher tickets to go elsewhere along the parade route.
That is total nonsense.
Or did you mean that the leftists are using GOP addresses?
The way it sounded, was that you mean that GOP would do stuff like this. Please clarify.
By phony I meant that the leftist was either using GOP or non-existent entities, phone nos., etc.
Just like what the website did as described in my second paragraph including "using a phony address that was a local GOP headquarters."
Sorry that the first paragraph was unclear.
Its our party and our President and we certainly should be entitled to celebrate the occasion. Liberals try to tell us how to organize this inaugural. What they need to do is get lost!!!
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