“It’s good to be living in the United States of America.”
Commissioner Jan Zogmaister - Standard-Examiner
Weber County provides space for protesters
May 16, 2012
Weber County provides space for protesters
May 16, 2012
The Standard-Examiner reports this morning on an interesting peripheral development in connection with the Matthew Stewart shootout case. As several other news media sources have previously reported, supporters of defendant Matthew Stewart are planning a May 18 rally for Stewart, which will begin at noon on the front steps of the Ogden Municipal Building, 2549 Washington Blvd. "After the speakers’ remarks, the group will cross Washington Boulevard and head to the Weber Center, where another presentation will take place."
Here's the latest development: In the interest of not jamming up the small reception area within County Attorney Dee Smith's office, our Weber County Commissioners have "graciously" provided access to the County Commission Chambers as a "designated protest area," which will remain open to protesters from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Check out the free online Jesus Lopez story:
- Weber commission chambers designated as gathering site for rally in support of Matthew David Stewart
Putting it all in context, we'll note that these uniquely "American-style," specially designated "free speech zones", (which are sometimes "lovingly" referred to by civil libertarians as "free speech cages,") are the latest rage amongst government bureaucrats to guard against the possibility of finding "unsightly" protesters under foot.
Several Sodden Queries for our Gentle WCF readership:
- Will the shuffling off of Friday's protesters to a Weber County Center "back room" amount to an abridgment of these folks' First Amendment rights?
- If the second leg of Friday's rally is held in the County Commission Chambers, will County Attorney Dee Smith or anyone else in the Weber County government "leadership loop" even notice that a public demonstration is going on?
- Will these arrangements ultimately prove acceptable to the protesters themselves?
- Will Friday's protesters be content to remain confined within the "designated protest area"?
- According to this morning's story "Protesters will be allowed to remain in the area as long as they do not endanger anyone’s health, safety or welfare," raising the additional question: Do Weber County authorities expect acts of civil disobedience?
- Will Friday's rally provoke another "unsightly" Dee Smith press conference?
We'll be keeping a close eye on this one folks.
Ain't America great?
Update 5/16/12 10:00 a.m.: More info on Friday's rally, via the Help Matthew Stewart website:
Update 5/16/12 10:30 a.m.: Well Lo and Behold, rally supporters have transmitted to us a press release, filling in a few more details concerning Friday's rally:
It's dated 5/15/12. Note to self: "Check out your WCF email inbox a little more frequently."
4 comments:
Wow.... a move from the Third Reich playbook?.... this is scary stuff...yeah, go ahead and protest as long as no one can see or hear you....
Chewy article from libertarian-oriented Reason Magazine, one of your blogmeister's online faves:
"Thus
the violence perpetrated by Latin American drug cartels and gangs in the
United States is not an argument against decriminalization. It’s an
argument for it."
When Will Obama Evolve on the Drug War?
Good fit for today's May 18 rally topic, methinks
And remeber Smaatguy... this is how Commissioner Zogmeister believes this is how political protests should be done in AmerikaAmerica.
Scary indeed.
Yes indeed. All political protesters, vandals and agitators should be put into a cage for the rest of their natural lives.
We have an Idyllic worker bee colony here in Utah.
Let's not screw it up.
Post a Comment