By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
Hat Tip: Steve Schippert at ThreatsWatch.org
Today, a friend of mine gave me a head’s up to an eye-opening article by one of my favorites – Warner Todd Houston: Florida Gov’t Cancels Tea Party Fearing ‘Too Many Attendees.’ READ IT ALL…
In what I consider to be a direct violation of our 1st amendment rights, cities across the US have passed stealth legislation charging large permit fees and insurance binders to keep citizens from their right to assemble. Count me as one of the conservatives who just got a nasty surprise. I’ve been sticking my nose into politics for almost two decades. In the early 90s when we held meetings in hotels, all we paid was a fee for the room and sometimes those were free. Schools and libraries were free too. I have a friend in Carson City, NV who came to me two years ago complaining how she couldn’t afford to hold meetings for parents on school board issues. Not because of the room fee, but because they now required insurance at an exorbitant rate. I need to apologize to her, even though I never told her this – I thought she just didn’t know how to handle setting up meetings and that she was being dramatic. Turns out she was right. And now they charge even more for holding assemblies out in public where the police should be all the insurance you need…
City governments are for the most part not outright banning the tea parties – nope, they are just making the fees and insurance so high that no one can afford to have them. That is still unconstitutional. While we all worked to feed our families, these laws were passed by liberals in each and every one of our local governments in order to silence us should we ever wake up. As the article pointed out, many places on government property we are told that we cannot hold protests and rallies – we paid for the damn government property, we should be able to use it. This is like the straw that broke the camel’s back and I would wager I’m not alone by a long shot on this one.
From The Bill of Rights:
First Amendment – Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause; freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly; right to petition.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
People, your city and state governments have no right to block you from assembly and free speech. Their financial red tape should not bind us from protesting. I would protest even if it meant jail. Some of you will say you have a family and children or you are worried about your jobs. Do this for your family – if you lose your job you would have lost it any way. Will you sacrifice your family’s future and the next generation’s future just because you were afraid of your government? Will your shackles rest on your shoulders so easily that you will share them with all you love? I say no! I say we protest and stand up regardless the cost!! Remember, you are not doing anything violent or illegal – you are standing up for your rights as American citizens… Don’t let them stop or silence you. It’s time to take a stand more than ever – if they are doing this it is because they fear the American public and so they should.
Either this did not apply to those congregating for Obama, the Code Pinkers, the war protesters and the illegal immigrants who gathered by the thousands or someone with deep pockets funded them. This has to stop now… Americans own America, not the liberal elite who manipulate our finances and laws.
UPDATE: Yeah! Freedom Works got involved: Cape Coral Tea Party is ON!
Hat Tip: Kim Priestap at Wizbang!
