Protest denied
A college violated some students’ constitutional rights by not allowing them to wear empty gun holsters as part of a nationwide protest over campus bans on concealed weapons, a student claims.
Brett Poulos said that although he asked permission before last month’s demonstration, a Tarrant County College official said empty holsters could not be worn anywhere on campus. Poulos said he was told students could protest only in the “free-speech zone” — a 12-by-12-foot concrete platform.
Free speech zones? Thought the whole country was a free speech zone.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:25 am
The courts have found that First Amendment rights may be regulated for safety reasons. Remember the free speech cages at both of the national party conventions? Usually they are degrading wire cages, out of sight of anyone, carefully watched by armed officers who check the protesters in and out.
Disgusting. The press didn’t let out a peep because “authorized” official journalists did have a little emasculated access.
Nobody believes in the Bill of Rights anymore. Not the elected officials, not the LEOs, not the bureaucrats. Just a few whack-os here and there who haven’t gotten the word.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I kind of resent being called a “whack-o”, thanks.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:20 am
BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
HAR HAR DE HAR!!!
Hee hee snicker snort…
(wheeze…)
OK, seriously… why on earth did the student feel that he had to ask permission? Sounds to me like he’s been conditioned perfectly, and it won’t be hard at all for his masters to break him of this nonsense about carrying guns.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Squeaky: I’ve read your blog and you qualify for the for the SUPER extra jumbo whack-o designation!
May 26th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
That’s more like it. Fool betta recognize.
May 26th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
But the whackiest stance is to limit free speech by anyone. That’s obscene and offensive.
The Texas Department of Public Saftey runs a “terrorist event” email alert that they send around to various departments. This open holster protest was on it with every campus where it might happen listed.
May 26th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
When you’re portesting in favor of some Marxist cause, you can shut down the whole campus and they’ll call you “courageous”.
Our universities have become everything but a place for the free exchange of ideas.
I recall a speech to that effect, made at Harvard in 1999 by C. Heston. This is a perfect time go back and read it:
http://www.nrawinningteam.com/harvard.html
May 26th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
The thing is that people who support the Constitution and the BOR, and actually believe in the tenets set down in those documents, are labeled domestic terrorists or potential domestic terrorists. That is what is taught in terrorism classes. That is what is taught in criminal justice classes. We have even seen that it has been codified by the FBI. The respons of the gun rights community was to laugh at it. Partially because it is so ridiculous, partly because it is so horrifying as to be unbelievable.
May 26th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Georgia Tech had the same “free speech zone” concept, only it was a full open-air auditorium thingie, about 100×100. Of course, only certain people had to go there… people like the pro-gay/lesbian/transgender/bisexual/etc group had free reign of the campus, along with political organizations (of most sects), and some other groups.
Religious organizations from off-campus, though? In the auditorium with you. On campus folks were pretty much stuck on their respective properties.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
remember when bush went to cades cove? you could protest but the protest area was about 10 miles away. so you wonder why a lot of us republicans are bitter, and its not bitter at obama. its bitter about those in our own party.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
From now on everyone with a “Question Authority” bumpersticker should be required to park in that 12 x 12 space.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Which, considering how hard parking spaces are to come by on most campuses might not be such a a bad strategy. 🙂
May 26th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Er, it’s pretty cut-and-dry constitutional law : disruptive speech of any kind can be subject to content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions.
I’m not a libertarian, but the basic concept seems like it would be necessary. I can’t imagine a functional and open government that is powerless to act against, for example, disruptive speech during a governmental meeting. A single unpleasant and vocal individual would render real discussion impossible.
Likewise, a government unable to provide time or place restrictions on picketing would easily find itself meetings or discussion easily and continually interrupted or otherwise impossible to manage.
The idea that wearing a holster is inherently disruptive, as compared to clothing or bumper stickers which are not found to be inherently disruptive in similar situations, is the problem. Taking the bumper sticker “solution” to the problem is a great way to get the masses interested, but it doesn’t provide meaningful answers.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Gatt- I know! How could gov’t ever steal money and enslave citizens with them being pesky and speaking out about it. Everyday I wake up and I ask myself, ‘how can I make the .gov better at what it does? Would advocating more tyranny on blogs help? Well I’ll give it a try..’
May 27th, 2008 at 3:08 am
Don’t wear an EMPTY holster then. Slip in a rolled up copy of the United States Constitution. More dangerous to government than any single firearm.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:32 am
I think some people are missing a distinction here. This was a protest in name only. People weren’t getting together to hold placards and chant slogans.
They were simply going on about their daily business. They just happened to do so while wearing an empty holster. It’s like requiring everyone wearing a Save the Whales t-shirt to stand in the designated free speech zone. In other words, it’s ridiculous.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Les is right, this wasn’t about waving placards, it was in the simplest of terms a manner of dress.
I actually attended TCC South Campus, received my Associates there and can say without a doubt the school is okay with protest shirts and apparel.
In my mind there is no difference in wearing an empty holster and wearing a “Bush Lied” shirt. If one is acceptable the others should be also.
I have emailed the Board of Trustees on this last week and will be emailing the administration this week.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Well, I’m pretty sure that free speech covers wearing whatever the hell I want to wear, including an empty holster. He shouldn’t have asked. I’m sure if I wanted to wear a carpenter’s nail pouch nobody would say anything, even though that nail pouch holds something that can be shot out of a nailGUN.