The year is 2005. Are First Amendment Zones still being used?

[zanana]

If John Kerry is elected in November, will Republican protestors against President Kerry be herded off into these infamous zones where they cannot be seen or heard? I'll be the first one to say they have it coming, but I think the sleaziness has to end at some point. So my question is; Should we as Democrats use the same sleazy tactics that the Republicans use as a tit-for-tat measure and teach them a lesson, or should we be the party to root out dirty tricks? Will it make a difference if we play "clean", or will it just give Republicans more of an advantage and encourage their crooked politics?

[Bronco69]

1. I say

keep the first amendment zones and tell them why were doing it. See how fast they go running to the ACLU. :-)

[sadiesworld]

2. I just posted this on the wrong thread, anyhoo...

* was here in Louisville yesterday. The (1000) protesters were shuttled off to a side street and the police filmed the crowd and also took still pics.

[waterman]

3. I say dump the zones the minute he gets in to restore the ingegrity

of an institution that claims to be for the people.

[oneighty]

4. First amendment zones

will have to be expanded with a left winger liberal president in office. When a right winger says he is going to murder someone he means it.

I cite President Kennedy as an example.

180

[Vagabond]

7. Who's the left winger you are referring to? n/t

[oneighty]

11. He/she has not been elected

so I do not know.

180

[htuttle]

5. Dump the zones...

Getting rid of the 'first amendment zones' is the right thing to do.

I'm figuring there's about 60% chance Kerry is not going to hustle us out of Iraq. If that is the case, I will be protesting him myself (*after* he's president), and I'd want him to be able to read my sign.

[drb]

6. The "right" thing to do...

....is, of course, to dump the zones.

My personal preference, however, would be to establish a special zone for rethugnocrat protesters - in Guantanamo!

[Vagabond]

8. The year is 2005. Is the world still intact? n/t

[AmericanErrorist]

9. You know...

the lwaas say you may have a right to speak, but they don't say where....

We've been lucky that the courts think that protesters need to be within the "Sight and sound" of the protestees. If Bush gets that SCOTUS appointment, we'll be darned.

[Az]

10. The Democrats are the originators of the 1st ammendment zones

We have to remember where these things came from. The antichoice crowd had turned to tactics of barricading clinics and direct, near physical confrontation of women trying to enter them. The 1st ammendment zones were an attempt to move the protestors back from the clinics.

The right has made very effective use of gorrila protests. They will get in the face and overwhelm activities. They will deny another of their right to freespeech. The act was an attempt to keep these hostile acts from functioning. Unfortunately it has been turned against us.

The lefts view of the act was such that a reasonable distance must be maintained. The protestors cannot physically interfere with the target of the protests. The right has turned it around and used the act to isolate and cage the protestors.

When messing with ammendments we must be careful of disturbing the balance in place. The opposition is willing to twist any advantage they can manage from the system.