Did Officer Wesley Cheeks, Jr., Also "Act Stupidly"?
Will the President say that about him, too? Because, I think this is a pretty clearcut case. It seems to me, if you're in the law enforcement business, you should actually know the law -- local, state, and what the Constitution and Bill of Rights say, too. These officers seem to just make it up as it suits them, which I find pretty chilling. We can have rights up the wazoo, but if police officers are ignorant of them or just pretend they don't exist, it is as if they don't exist at all.
Regarding the situation in the video, the officers claimed First Amendment rights are different on school grounds. That's not my understanding from my days on my high school newspaper. Indeed, here's the quote I recall, from the Student Press Law Center:
Q: Do high school students have First Amendment rights?
A: Yes. As the United States Supreme Court said in 1969, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional right to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." But the First Amendment only prohibits government officials from suppressing speech; it does not prevent school censorship at private schools. A state constitution, statute or school policy could provide private school students with free speech protections.
via baldilocks/insty
Reminds me of the old saying, "you have what you can hold." Meaning it doesn't matter what it says you have a right to do, if you aren't allowed to do it then it isn't a right. I am suprised the officers didn't do worse to him. Welcome to Amerika.
JD at August 29, 2009 4:36 AM
Hey, a coincidence. I was just reading through Oleg Volk's site and its associated links, and had discovered that after the Virginia Tech shootings, some people had bumper stickers removed from their car by campus police. They had profanity on them, such as "Police Have Never Stopped A School Shooting", "When Seconds Count, Police Are Just Minutes Away", and "Support Campus CCW".
No word on what happened when they were re-posted, taped to the inside of windows.
There is a power struggle in the USA, and it goes on constantly. If you want to give yours as a citizen to someone else, it will be taken from you in ways that make it difficult to get it back.
When women couldn't vote, they were allowed to carry a gun to defend themselves. Hmm.
Radwaste at August 29, 2009 6:55 AM
I haven't seen the video. But assuming the meeting was out of hours and the attendees were not students then it is a community meeting, and no policy restrictions should apply.
Jim P. at August 29, 2009 10:23 AM
Found a summary that doesn't require you to watch the video to find out the info.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108307
Ron at August 29, 2009 2:59 PM
According to the WND summary, the officer was not a police officer, but a school system security officer.
Wonder what actual arrest authority he has.
Conan the Grammarian at August 30, 2009 11:10 AM
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