Posted on 05/23/2002 9:24:02 AM PDT by marshmallow
WASHINGTON DC, (LSN.ca/CWNews.com) - Crossroads, a youth pro-life wing of American Life League which walks across the US to herald the pro-life message, was stopped from crossing the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Crossroads kicked off its annual pilgrimage Monday.
Crossroads was begun in the early 90s by students at Franciscan University of Steubenville and now each summer, pro-life college students walk across the country, pray at abortion facilities, speak at churches, and host town hall meetings to educate the public about abortion.
Leaving from San Francisco and heading to Toronto, the walkers approached the Golden Gate bridge. As the walkers were crossing the bridge, bridge patrol officers stopped them. According to the patrol, the walkers' T-shirts are not allowed on the bridge. On the front, the T-shirts read "Pro-Life." An American flag is on the back.
The walkers were informed that the pro-life shirts are a form of political protest. If the walkers didn't comply with the request to desist, they could be punished with a $10,000 fine and a year in jail.
Adam Redmon, director of Crossroads, commented "Officers ordered our team members-- who were wearing pro-life T-shirts-- to remove their shirts. America is pro-life, and pro-life Americans should not be targeted for discrimination -- especially in the San Francisco Bay area, where the right to free expression is held in high regard." Redmon says the group is planning legal action so as to stem such discrimination.
They should have brought their baseball bats with them as well.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment XIV
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Is there some ordinance that prohibits any protesting on the bridge? Wouldn't surprise me if there was, to prevent protesters from blocking it. - If so, it sounds like they are not singled out for discrimination.
However, I would imagine that they are not selective about stopping disruptions and protests on the bridge. I am going to guess that the police take a dim view of all points of view that choose the bridge as a place to announce it.
I am not taking sides on this... I commented because the "political protests" are not inherently illegal and subject to the stiff penalty mentioned... but disrupting traffic on the bridge might be. If they have written an ordinance about the bridge, it would apply to all, not just "our side"... and we should at least be honest about what happened and not assume we have been victimized until we know for sure.
The American Criminal Lover's Union is too busy ensuring that real criminals don't go to jail, so they are better able to prey on society. They're also making sure that NAMBLA members can have their way with young boys. And, of course, they're also busy making sure that homosexuals get preferential treatment. So don't expect them to have time to attend to something as trivial as a First Amendment issue.
Well, one individual with such a T-shirt probably wouldn't seem to be a protest -- but when you have a large group ...
Then it isn't an organized protest or a disruption. That is the point. No one has the right to disrupt traffic on the bridge to make a political statement.
If this were about a liberal cause that was kicked off the bridge, we would be cheering for the rights of the commuters who are trying to get to work. Every nut with a cause does not have the right to shut down the Golden Gate, and neither do we.
We have to be smarter.
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