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Originally Posted by fatboy
Hmmm. I don't know. Is there anything that says you have the right to peacefully assemble anywhere you want? I mean, they're still allowed to peacefully assemble, they just can't do it in front of the President.
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When you combine the two first amendment protections the secret service is abridging (right to assembly and right to free speech), it is especially odious. NO COURT would ever uphold an arrest based on refusing to move when the only reason the protestor is ordered to move is content based. If I were ever to protest, I would make them arrest me and then I would sue the federal governemnt in Federal Court for violations of my rights under color of law...and I would win.
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After all, protesters can't just stand around, they have to keep moving due to loitering laws - we don't consider that unconstitutional.
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People don't have to keep moving to avoid running afoul of the anti-loitering laws; they have to be able to give a reason for why they are there (satisfactory explanation of his presence). If I go outside and sit on the sidewalk in front of my house, a police office can't force me to leave under the anti-loitering statutes if I have a reason why I am there (I like to greet my neighbors everyday, for example). The police often threaten loitering charges to disperse people, but the fact is that they are often dismissed or not persued.
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All that tripe just written notwithstanding, I'm against this practice.
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Everyone should be against it. If people are stopped from peaceably assembling to protest, what rights will the government taken next?
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