Posted on 10/06/2005 1:47:52 PM PDT by crazyhorse691
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A woman was booted off a Southwest Airlines flight for wearing a T-shirt that bore an expletive and images of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Lorrie Heasley of Woodland, Wash., said she plans to press a civil-rights complaint against the airline over Tuesday's action at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, halfway through Heasley's scheduled trip from Los Angeles to Portland, Ore.
"I have cousins in Iraq and other relatives going to war," Heasley told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "Here we are trying to free another country and I have to get off an airplane ... over a T-shirt. That's not freedom."
Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said several passengers complained about the shirt.
Heasley, a 32-year-old lumber saleswoman, said passengers began complaining after she and her husband, Ron, moved to the front of the cabin in Reno.
She agreed to cover the words with a sweatshirt, but when the sweatshirt slipped while she was trying to sleep, she was ordered to wear her T-shirt inside-out or leave.
She and her husband left. They arrived home in a rental car Wednesday afternoon.
McInnis said Southwest rules allow the airline to deny boarding to any passenger whose clothing is "lewd, obscene or patently offensive."
But Allen Lichtenstein, lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union in Las Vegas, said it "might be problematic" that the airline "changed rules in the middle of a flight."
Heasley said she has been in touch with ACLU lawyers in Seattle, and wants Southwest to reimburse her for the last leg of the trip.
This info jibes with what I have found;
BMC West
Vancouver, WA
Contractor Sales - Lorrie Heasley
All of us at BMC Millwork recognize your importance as a customer, and understand that our business is "people serving people".
We invite you to give us the opportunity to supply your next project!
http://tinyurl.com/992n3
65 posted on 10/06/2005 2:07:22 PM PDT by kcvl
"unpopular speech is protected, obscene speech is not and it is certainly not protected from private enterprise enforcing decency standard for people trapped in a small space for hours on end. (airplane at 35,000 feet)."
I know that obscene speech is not protected. We were discussing offensive speech - that's different.
Is my freedom of speech terminated if I wear a tee shirt with a Confederate battle flag on it?
"Hannity got his behind kicked, as usual when arguing with liberal twits."
Hannity is a nice guy buy a little retodded.
Unless the wearing of that shirt was necessary due to either a disability recognized under the ADA or is a required item by a religious or ethnic group protected by the Civil Rights Act then it is not a discriminatory issue.
Note that simply claiming that it is a 'religious garment', for example, would not suffice. She would have to demonstrate that not only was this a practiced requirement of a religion, but that she subscribed to that religion and had a history of adhering to this tenet. Even then the onus of proving the motivation for refusing to provide service was discrimination would be on her. She would have to show that the refusal was specifically because of her religious beliefs, and not that any discrimination was incidental to another (nondiscriminatory) reason.
The ACLU attorneys know this, of course. But they still love to hear themselves talk.
"Used to be that folks would wear their Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes when you'd fly"
Yep - now all the ones I see on "Airline" look like unmade beds and act like jackasses because cameras are present. And if you look at shows like "The People's Court" and "Judge Judy," half the "litigants" on those shows dress like hookers or pimps (knowing they'll be on national television). I'm all for clean jeans, a shirt, etc - but hell, knit jersey shorts and a muscle shirt, PULEEEZE!
She did this to get her 15 minutes of fame a la Mother Moonbat. There is no way you could NOT think that such a t-shirt would be offensive. And Hannity's full of crap for calling it censorship. Southwest Airlines is not an arm of the federal government.
In Reno, they were actually closer to LA (time wise) then they were to Woodland, Washington. I guess their reason for going to LA was not all that important.
Don't care too much for Hannity. He always gives liberals a platform - and they end up talking over him and he's reduced to pathetic shouting.
Liberals don't deserve to have their points heard. That's why Rush always screens his callers and pounces on the first liberal spewing Dem talking points.
Yup. Interesting too, as the spin continues to shape this story, that the big ole F-word is being pushed to the background, while the image of Bush, Rice, Cheney, et al, is being targeted as the provocation.
This is not freedom of speech any more than "no shirt, no shoes, no service."
She wants a refund. I'd like to see her face slapped. Guess we're both disappointed.
Liberals don't deserve to have their points heard. That's why Rush always screens his callers and pounces on the first liberal spewing Dem talking points.
Amen! That's why I don't like to listen to Hannity much. Who cares what those liberal whiners are saying? They have their platforms and Hannity doesn't sound like he can handle them very well.
Here's a good example of that:
Note: Effective March 12, 2003, Wood Performance Will Not Ship to FRANCE, RUSSIA, GERMANY, SPAIN, THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC, or any other country that does not stand in the Anti-Terrorism Alliance with The UNITED STATES of AMERICA and support America's position on Iraq. Join in our Stand Against Terrorism.
Assuming she sues the airline, wouldn't it be nastily lovely if some of the passengers could be persuaded to sue HER for 'extreme emotional distress' etc.? Say, for about three times what she asks for?
Website does not allow unauthorized use of photos.
Ha! You got him down pat. Every day when I drive home I wish Hannity's and Rush's times were reversed.
I have watched all of the television "Airline"
http://www.aetv.com/tv/shows/airline/ programs on A&E since they were first broadcast. I think it is a great show.
You have to feel for the customer service reps with all of the crap that they put up with, which most times is undeserved due stupidity on the part of the flyer or in some cases manaagement error.
I think the biggest complaint from the village idiot - typical irate customer is that they show up at the gate as the door is about to close and assume that since they are ticketed that they have a right to jump on the aircraft at the last minute, when it is written on the ticket that you have to be at the departure gate for at least ten minutes prior.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.