Freedom Of Speech DOES Have Limits, You Know

wocket · Post by **wocket** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 11:49 pm

So, in order to hold a rally or gathering of any sort, there are certain things you have to do:
1) Contact the town, business, or wherever you plan to hold the rally
2) State your objectives
3) Get permission and a suitable location, where people going about their everyday life won't be inconvenienced.

Sounds like common sense, right?
...Sure. Unless you happen to be part of Life & Liberty Ministries.

Today, a group of people from that church came to our campus, unannounced, in the middle of the day, and held a pro-life rally, complete with disgusting, graphic pictures. They held this unannounced rally right on the sidewalk next to Main St - ie, where all students who live on campus have to cross in order to go to class. They obstructed everyone's path and shouted some nasty things when people complained.
To make things even better, their signs and graphic pictures were in clear view of the early childhood learning center, where elementary-aged school children go to be tutored by elementary-ed majors.

Yeah. They held their pictures up in plain view of 6-year-olds.

Public safety asked them to either leave or alter their disruptive behavior. Both choices were shot down and the group continued to be rowdy. Eventually a group of students surrounded them and told them to get the hell out of the way. A few students tried to block the pictures so the little kids on campus couldn't see them.

Finally, public safety got them the hell off of our campus.

Of course, if you ask the church, we're the bad guys.
Then again, the church thinks today is April 13th.

Post by **Blaze** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 11:52 pm

Why didn't you call the police? Peacable assembly requries certian approvals. If they didn't have them, they were breaking the law and could have been both ticketed, and, if they resisted, jailed.

wocket · Post by **wocket** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 11:53 pm

Public safety handles things like that. If they hadn't been able to handle the group, they would have notified the police themselves.
As it turned out, we didn't need police involvement.

StruckingFuggle · Post by **StruckingFuggle** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 12:00 am

Eh, "didn't need" isn't the same thing as "couldn't make use of"...

wocket · Post by **wocket** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 12:02 am

Yes, it is. The university doesn't like calling on the town police for things it can handle itself.

Besides, if the church's site is to be believed, the campus has its own damn police force that can make arrests.

Spongiform · Post by **Spongiform** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 1:21 am

[quote="StruckingFuggle";p="733558"]Eh, "didn't need" isn't the same thing as "couldn't make use of"...[/quote]

Yeah, and they could have made use of the National Guard too, but the campus police is there for a reason and you don't need to waste the time of the real police department if you don't need to. And, you don't need to make a bigger deal of it than you need to. If the campus police didn't work, then they should call the real police.

Negative Polarity · Post by **Negative Polarity** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 1:55 am

You see, it's times like this when the University's Paintball Club should be holding "demonstration and safety" rallies. Just hand the religious demonstrators a mask and instruct them in its use. If they don't put it on, it's their decision... I'm more pro-violence than I am pro-life.

wocket · Post by **wocket** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:45 am

UPDATE: it wasn't just pro-life, though that was part of what they were preaching.

There was also anti-homosexuality signs, and people were handing out "Who Would Jesus Damn?" cards. (Things were really, really confusing and hectic and it's hard to get a good account of what really went on. Basically these people were protesting anything and everything outside of their mindset.)
Most of the students surrounding the ministry were from the Allies (Gay/Straight Alliance) group, though, surprisingly, the president of the KU Republicans group joined in.
In an official statement from the KU Republicans group, the president wrote "...a community of love is more in need than one of hate. The events today are inexcusable..."

I saw one of those "Who Would Jesus Damn?" cards that my friend was handed. On the list? "The unforgiving".
How incredibly ironic, considering the way these people acted and the way they refuse to forgive anyone different than they are.

StruckingFuggle · Post by **StruckingFuggle** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:47 am

[quote="wocket";p="733594"]I saw one of those "Who Would Jesus Damn?" cards that my friend was handed. On the list? "The unforgiving".[/quote]

Oh, god. Be careful putting those things near computers! They're little irony bombs waiting to go off, and most machinese these days don't have paradox-absorbing crumple zones yet!

wocket · Post by **wocket** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:48 am

Too late!

EDIT: My apologies for the flash in the middle. I'm not the one who took the picture and it seems to be the only one online.

Jamie Bond · Post by **Jamie Bond** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:57 am

Sorcerers?!

Oh shit

/me hides his spell book and reagents

Post by **Blaze** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:02 am

Umm... I'm going to go out on a limb and bet that there were even a lot of very good Christians laughing at these morons. You see, there's fundamentalist, and then there's crazy.

Some people manage to read the bible over and over and completely miss that whole, "love and forgivness and brotherhood" for all mankind.

As I recall, Jesus didn't hang out with the prostitutes and tax collectors and all that to tell them how much they suck.

gravity · Post by **gravity** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:03 am

Inventors of evil things? Blarg, I'm doomed.

Heh, no one mourns the wicked.

/me puts in the soundtrack while inventing evil things while biting people's backs

wocket · Post by **wocket** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:07 am

[quote="Blaze";p="733602"]Umm... I'm going to go out on a limb and bet that there were even a lot of very good Christians laughing at these morons. You see, there's fundamentalist, and then there's crazy.[/quote]

Oh, I have no doubt. A lot of the Allies members are Christian, and they definitely weren't the only ones out there. I was just surprised the president of KUCR acted the way he did. If anything, I expected him to give a press release saying "not all Christians are like these people, kthx" and leave it at that. But no, he was up in their faces yelling at them and quoting the Bible at them and siding with homosexuals when he is a blatant homophobe.
It was pretty much the awesomest thing ever.

Deacon · Post by **Deacon** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:09 am

[quote="wocket";p="733604"]A lot of the Allies members are Christian[/quote]
Just checking: you're saying many of the members of a pro-gay group were Christians?

But no, he was up in their faces yelling at them and quoting the Bible at them and siding with homosexuals when he is a blatant homophobic.

Whoa...how do you know the guy?

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