<p>For those of us with passionate college students, it would be wise to let them know about a new provision proposed in the Patriot Act that would make it a felony to demonstrate or protest at any designated event that the government wishes to designate as “special.”
Will the administration let us know in advance which events are so flagged, or will the secret service just start arresting people?</p>
I don’t think that the simple act of joining a protest is the problem. From reading the article, it sounds like it’s a question of breaching a security barrier.</p>
<p>Are there any restrictions on where the barrier can be placed? If the event is in NYC, can they declare the barrier to be the Connecticut state line? I only ask (yes, facetiously) because at the Inauguration in DC, the barrier was out of line of site of any part of the Inauguration events, which seemed a bit extreme.</p>
<p>cgm - the prez doesn’t have to be there for you to be arrested. If you’re inside the secure zone of a “special national event” and you demonstrate or protest, they can charge you. It doesn’t have to be an event where there is a dignitary. The super bowl or Olympics can be classified a special national event. The administration decides what a special national event is, and they decide what the zone boundaries are. The secret service can make the call, and the arrests. IF it passes, of course. Apparently the vote was delayed.
In Cindy Sheehan’s case, they considered her T-shirt a protest.</p>
<p>I wasn’t kidding about wondering about our kids. They don’t usually think about whether their campaign buttons or “Save the Artic” shirts
will present a problem in public places, and I think they’d better start thinking about it.</p>
<p>A.S.A.P. - Can you read English? It doesn’t say if you’re “inside the secuire zone” - it says if you BREACH the perimeter. You make it sound like people will just end up where they’re not supposed to be without doing anything wrong. And what is this blarney about the “Administration deciding” - do you want them to call you up? And “even if the President isn’t there” - don’t you think that some perimeters should be set up ahead of time so that evildoers don’t have time to plant bombs. </p>
<p>What will it take for you to wake up to the terror risks we face? How bout posting something about the risks our kids face from Islamofascists instead of George Bush?</p>
<p>EVILDOERS!!! In some places, the “demonstration” area is BLOCKS away, so its all purty and pristeen for your Majesty</p>
<p>Terror we face? </p>
<p>Lets seal the borders, check containers on ships, etc., instead of banishing Patriotic Americans from doing what they have the right to do,.</p>
<p>Be a man and not live in terror, that is just sad</p>
<p>My husband grew up in Ireland during the troubles, did the Irish hide from the world…</p>
<p>The terrorists have won if BigGreen is afraid. And he is scared. Scared of his fellow Americans who care about democracy. </p>
<p>Can you read? you are willing to sacrifice freedoms because you are so afraid. That is not being an American. I thought we were the best and the bravest.</p>
<p>I think MORE college kids should protest…scaring people from demonstrating is exactly what this administration wants</p>
<p>If you have people like me and my mom and my girls out there, and Americans who don’t let the Stalinlike and Saddamlike government fear tactics work, then the law will be useless</p>
<p>Using fear is what the partiot act is all about, look at some posters, afraid of their fellow Americans</p>
<p>It seems to me that anyone who stays away from clearly defined secure areas will not have a problem. While you may disagree about the need for secure areas, or how they are determined, if someone deliberately goes beyond where they should be then they are breaking the law.</p>
<p>My mom was in a demonstration two years ago. THe police corralled the marchers, and told them to disperse. The marchers WERE IN the “zone” or whatever, the marchers then had to climb over baracade, in order to disperse, because the police were forcing everyone backwards and it was extremely dangerous.</p>
<p>My mom, all of 60, was pepper sprayed, because the police over reacted and had no plan.</p>
<p>It doesn’t take much for the police in a situation to actually create problems where none existed before, and then to blame the demonstrators. If you could see the pictures of the crowd, who were BEHIND the fences, who were trying to disperse, but could not, who got peppersprayed and hurt, because the police DECIDED they were disruptive, you would actually laugh. its like a Sunday mass group</p>
<p>My point is, if the police want to arrest anyone, they will. And to make it a felony?</p>
<p>The word “deliberate” is very arribitrary. And a FELONY seems a bit harsh</p>
<p>I mean, we have drunk drivers get less harsh treatment</p>
<p>I’m worried about that, too. I think anti-american sentiment has grown exponentially world-wide since 9/11.<br>
Believe me, a terrorist is not going to wear an anti-war, anti- bush T-shirt to advertise his unhappiness with our government’s policies.
They won’t be carrying signs.
This provision is explictly aimed at demonstrators. Yes, cavalier, scaring people from demonstratiing is exactly what the provision hopes to accomplish. We already have security at the events like the olympics and super bowl aimed at people bringing in items that could endanger the public. This provision is about exercising free speech. It makes exercising our free speech in a way that the government disaproves a FELONY.
And this doesn’t only apply to rowdy mobs who break down barriers, as sjmom believes. It applies to anyone attending an event they deem a special event of national interest. In other words, 15 teenagers attending the superbowl with ‘stop the war’ buttons or shirts could be arrested.
Don’t tell me it can’t happen. Similar things already have.</p>
<p>I’d sooner be arrested for speaking my mind than put up with Bush’s ever increasing fascism. And for the record, I’d sooner die a young as a free man from a terrorist bombing than die old in a state that restricts what, where and how you can express ideas, especially important ones.</p>
<p>Not to mention that there isn’t any guarantee this law would stand up in court - Congress and Bush overstep their boundries ALL THE TIME.</p>
<p>What will it take for you to wake up to the terror risks we face? How bout posting something about the risks our kids face from [insert today’s common enemy-- Os… wait no Emmanuel Goldstein!] instead of George Bush?</p>
<p>We are quickly becoming one, cavalier… Bush is a total idiot, has NO IDEA of what the constitution says/means, has no respect for any limits on his power, thinks that an act authorizing military force is an actual declaration of war (even though he never declared war on any country…), and systematically eliminates attorneys from his administration who think he’s overstepped his bounds. I sincerely hope each and every day that he is either impeached or resigns; he is quite possibly the worst thing to happen to this country in the past 20 years.</p>
<p>Bush is not an idiot. His administration, run by Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove as much as Bush, however, IS the worst political thing to happen to this country. Ever.</p>