American Samizdat

Friday, September 09, 2005. *
Planning on taking part in this Sunday's Freedom Walk? Better register today or you will face arrest on sunday. If you'd rather cheer on the march instead be prepared to peer over a four-foot high "snow fence."

Note: Highlighted in the WAPO article the severe restrictions placed on members of the press. From WaPo (linked above):

"One restricted group will be the media, whose members will not be allowed to walk along the march route. Reporters and cameras are restricted to three enclosed areas along the route but are not permitted to walk alongside participants walking from the Pentagon, across the Memorial Bridge to the Mall."

Further, note, In general, First Amendment rights can be restricted in "time, place, and manner" if needed to fulfill an "important government purpose," as long as those restraints aren't message-based (i.e., "content neutral"). Some communication channels must remain open, and the restraints must be "narrowly tailored" to the government purpose. Here's some more info.

Finally, I don't know all the case law, but perhaps the press could make the case here that the restraints are not narrowly tailored enough. But of course it's to late.
posted by Uncle $cam at 6:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment





Site Meter



Creative Commons License