MoveOn.org posted this photo on their Facebook page:
First Amendment Area?
I presume (the post doesn’t say) this is a photo from Ferguson, Missouri. I presumed incorrectly. It’s a sign from the Bundy Ranch standoff.
My first thought was, “Do they have a 2nd Amendment area?” My second thought was, if we put up signs saying “2nd Amendment Area” will cops enforce it?
It’s probably a violation of prior restraint law, of course. The sign is an indication of just how bizarre and sick things are in Ferguson, Missouri, at the moment. It’s also an indication of how bizarre things were at Bundy Ranch.
Tip of the old scrub brush to Randy Creath.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
One of your comments identified the pic as coming from elsewhere. Could be wrong, I guess, and your id could be entirely correct, in which case I apologize. However, since you admitted you just assumed the source was Ferguson, it’s still dubious usage. Verify, always.
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It is so disappointing that everyone’s attention seems to have been diverted away from the actual content of the protest — almost as in a magician’s trick. Tear gas, guns and riot gear make for interesting photos but what I have sought through the media and rarely found are the actual voices and words that are supposed to be protected. The only news outlet I have found that has actually reported the voice of these people is Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now.
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Oh, so it’s from the Bundy Ranch standoff?
How does that change the issue?
(Well, other than highlighting the racist divide that exists — none of the Bundy Rebels appear to be flocking to Missouri to defend the rights of people of color to legally use public property . . . )
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What is the erroneous information? How can you show me the error?
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You’re right as far as the Bill of Rights is concerned. You’re wrong to use inaccurate material to promote your view. As for inflammation, right now, the actual people who live in Ferguson are trying to stop the violence, realizing that at this point it is not helping the cause of justice. There is progress toward justice. The last thing they need is someone fanning the flames, especially if based on erroneous information.
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Clearly my posting was ineffective, if that’s the message you got.
Is there such a thing as a “free speech area?” Can we proscribe any part of the Bill of Rights, or any part of the Constitution, by a label on a fence?
I hope you’ve got a collection of Woody Guthrie you can resort to, Mikels.
http://woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/This_Land.htm
What does that mean? Is it a misleading quote that is factually (and legally) erroneous?
What situation does it inflame that doesn’t roundly deserve inflaming?
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A sign, not from Ferguson, possibly not put up by cops, used to make a point(?) What was the point? That you empathize with protesters in Ferguson? Fine, me, too. However, this exemplifies a problem. Namely, the use of misleading quotes/images on the internet that may be not only factually erroneous, but serve no clear purpose other than to claim solidarity, and possibly inflame the situation unnecessarily.
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The entire US is a 1st Amendment area. The entire US is a Bill of Rights area.
(In your con law class, you may get to “reasonable time, place and manner restrictions,” but generally you run into that in labor law in any depth. This sign is really, really odd.)
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Reblogged this on The Cryptosphere and commented:
Actually, this is a sign from the Bundy Ranch confrontation, but the point stands.
In the Vancouver Olympics they had “free speech zones.” As opposed to the rest of North America, it would seem.
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Should not the entire US be a 1st amendment area?
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