Peace T-shirt Leads To Man's Arrest

[goofyfish]

An Selkirk man says he was arrested Monday for expressing his objection to possible war with Iraq at Crossgates Mall. He says all he did was wear a T-shirt bearing a message of peace, which he actually purchased in the mall.
STEPHEN DOWNS AND his son, Roger, Downs, each had a pro-peace shirt made Monday night. One shirt simply said "Let Inspections Work" on one side and "No War With Iraq" on the other. The other shirt said "Give Peace A Chance" on the front and "Peace On Earth" on the back. The men each paid $23 for their shirts and then wore them in the mall.
"We were just shopping. We were wearing these T-shirts. We weren't handing out leaflets, we weren't saying anything," Roger Downs recalled…

Guilderland police say they arrested Downs because he refused to leave private property. That, they say, is trespassing… Signs posted at entrances to the mall say that "wearing of apparel... likely to provoke disturbances... is prohibited" at the mall.

You just gotta love that being FOR peace and wearing a pro-peace t-shirt might cause "a disturbance."

Internet source.

 

[goofyfish]

A protest is going at Crossgates Mall. Members of the group Women Against War intend to enter the mall with clothing bearing peace messages. They are upset by the story of Stephen Downs of Selkirk. Downs was arrested for trespassing Monday night after he refused to remove his T-shirt bearing a peace message or leave the mall. (Full text here )

I have posted this here to try and avoid falling into the political bickering that often results in the WE&P forum. The question is: With shopping malls considered private property, do 1st Amendment protections apply?

 

[skywalker]

No problem goofyfish!

It is really disturbing to see what is going on in america today. I think it will get worst and any one who opposes the govt will be put into jail. Just like russia or china.

 

[technicpeach]

I know this sounds crazy but I wonder if they have a sign that prohibits being nude? I wonder if that would cause a disturbance.

 

[Jaxom]

Maybe we'll just have to go the direction that some public schools have gone...to prevent the displaying of clothing that "may cause disturbances" in non-public places (which seems to me to mean just about anywhere that isn't a gov't property), we all have to wear approved uniforms. Not that there's proof it's helped the school system, but it sounded like a nice quick fix at the time that was cheap for the schools.

If anti-war clothing is potentially disruptive, wouldn't pro-USA clothing be as well? No red, white and blue apparel at the mall!

 

[VAKEMP]

From a purely logical perspective, if it's private property, they have the 'right to refuse service to anyone'.

I think it will get worst and any one who opposes the govt will be put into jail.

As long as you don't try to blame the Gov't for this incident, I won't think you're too paranoid.

 

[goofyfish]

And blaming The Government is not addressing the issue of the thread.

 

[blankc]

People should organize a boycott of the mall, and hand out leaflets right outside of thier property stating why. I'm sure this would quickly change the situation. Interesting that you can have someone arrested for trespassing so easily, sounds like a prime way to abuse the system .

 

[Tiassa]

Capitalism with morals ....

"Your money is no good if you disagree with what I think."

Or, something like that. Capitalism with morals?

There is a terrible habit in the US where speech issues are concerned:

- If Person B has a problem with Person A's opinion to the point that Person A may be endangered for expressing his/her opinion, the proper thing to do is to arrest Person A for upsetting Person B.

If a peace shirt is enough to cause a disturbance at a mall, then I would say the war pigs need to grow the heck up. Welcome to America ....

Seriously--if the best response people can come up with to a t-shirt is to arrest the guy wearing it?

Think of gangs, incidentally--it was cheaper to ban certain colors, labels, and styles of clothing than it was to install metal detectors and prohibit weapons.

The present incident is just another diversion. As long as we keep treating the symptoms, we can complain about the disease. If we cure the disease, we can't keep bitching about the symptoms.

:m:,
Tiassa