“You can’t yell fire in crowded movie theater"Yes, you can—if there is a fire. Which is what Jodi Riddleberger was trying to do when the Chairman—the mousy commissioners having already voted to prohibited media presentations during speakers from the floor—refused to put her on the agenda.
Despite his superfluous misrememberance of fifth grade civics, Alston reveals precisely why he is on the wrong side of the issue and why the North Carolina ACLU has sided with Riddleberger: In the United States of America, government officials cannot exercise prior restraint of speech. Without a dire compelling public interest, the government or its agents, no matter how arrogantly ignorant or self righteous, may not decide in advance that what someone may be about to say is to be prohibited.
For Alston to think that what Riddlerberger wanted to say was equivelant to FALSELY yelling fire in a crowded theater, is an admission that he is engaging in the very prior evaluation of her message the Constitution prohibits. Heck, he even says as much:
“As far as content, I think there should be some kind of restrictions on freedom of speech.”Whether Riddleberger's message is true or false, annoying or flattering, the Chairman has no right to intervene and those who can stop the Chairman's misbehavior should do so. If it's not going to be the other commissioners, it's going to be a judge—to Guilford County's unnecessary expense and embarrassment.
2 comments:
"I want to protect all speech," he said. "I'm a proponent for free speech. I fight every day for free speech. When somebody tries to make a mockery and over-extend those parameters it’s a different thing."
That's the thing about free speech: people are allowed to make mockeries.
Yeah...if it's gonna change, it's going to have to come from a judge.
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