A judge dismissed all charges Thursday against four members of a conservative Christian group who were arrested last fall while picketing a street festival for gays. KW Associates, Realtors After watching video footage of the event, Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe said that while the protesters' message that homosexuality is a sin clearly enraged the crowd, the bullhorn-wielding demonstrators did not incite violence. "We are one of the very few countries that protect unpopular speech. And that means that Nazis can March in Skokie, Ill. ... That means that the Ku Klux Klan can march where they wish to," Dembe said. "We cannot stifle speech because we don't want to hear it, or we don't want to hear it now."The First Amendment survives, and for that I am glad. I fully support the right of Americans to display messages like this, even though I may not agree with the message itself. I'm genuinely glad that a friend of mine could go to the Inauguration and then turn his back as the Presidental motorcade rolled by. Were I there, my expression would have been different, but I believe it is crucial that both he and I have the freedom to express ourselves.
Hey, as long as they weren’t encouraging violence, let ‘em protest. I don’t really see the point… but there’s no harm. I wonder what their goal was. Were people at the festival going to stop and say “you know what… you’re right! I am a sinner and a horrible person. Your megaphone and words of judgement have shown me the light!” ? More than likely, they just wanted to be on the record as being opposed to homosexuality.
I agree with you, Mark. They were not going to make a difference but they felt that they needed to be heard. Just like most protesters (and counter-protesters) do.
And I think the right to speech is protected, unless those expressing themselves are infringing on the rights of others. (Thus protesters blocking traffic should be arrested, as should the greenpeace looneys who attacked the oil trading floor.)
http://king-of-fools.com/blog/trackback/1703/ZdJv8unJ/