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View Full Version : Appeals court bars Cheney foes from West Point



stephanie
05-25-2007, 07:29 PM
Associated Press
05/25/2007
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WHITE PLAINS - The mere presence of Vice President Dick Cheney does not turn West Point into a public forum and is not an "open invitation" to protesters, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.

Cheney is scheduled to deliver the commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy today, and about 1,000 people had hoped to march onto the campus for an anti-war demonstration.

But the Army denied permission, a federal judge in White Plains agreed, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused on Friday to issue a preliminary injunction that would allow the march.

The would-be protesters - the Democratic Alliance of Orange County and several individuals - argued that Cheney is likely to speak in support of the war in Iraq and they should be allowed to express an opposing view.

The three-judge panel disagreed, saying the protesters misunderstood how the First Amendment applies inside a military base.

"Although the vice president is a political figure, he is also an incumbent official in the United States government," the court wrote. "As such, his mere presence on campus to address members of the United States military on their graduation day does not convert the West Point campus into a public forum, nor does it serve as an open invitation for 1,000 or more outsiders to engage in freewheeling and potentially distracting, if not disruptive, acts of political expression."

The protesters' attorney, Stephen Bergstein, said the military gets too much respect.

"No other institution in our society enjoys the deference that the military establishment enjoys," he said. "There are things you can't do in our society, and protesting at a military institution is one of them. It's a shame because they invite Cheney and he can say whatever he wants."

Besides the constitutional issue, the court agreed with the Army that it had legitimate security concerns.

"Despite plaintiffs' assurances of a peaceful and orderly protest, the protest and surrounding activities could prove unpredictable and perhaps unmanageable," the decision said.

Said Bergstein: "They wouldn't have had any problems with us. I really don't think anything bad would have happened if they'd done this."
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18388535&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=6

5stringJeff
05-25-2007, 07:36 PM
OK, this one hits home personally. I am a 1998 graduate of West Point.

Graduation Day is a big deal for all college grads. At West Point, it's a weeklong event. We have parades, balls, ceremonies, open houses, more parades, more ceremonies, more parades (we parade a lot)... it's a big deal. The graduation ceremony itself, on Saturday morning, is, in contrast to the preceding week, very tranquil. We get up, eat our last meals as cadets, form up, and march up to the football stadium. It's a happy time, it's a fun time, it's a time for us to reflect on our last four years as cadets and our next five in the Army.

The last thing we need or want is a bunch of damn anti-war protesters with nothing better to do than screw up our day! Go protest anywhere you want, but keep your damn dirty asses off my post on my Graduation Day!!! :mad:

Birdzeye
05-25-2007, 07:48 PM
OK, righties, be prepared for a surprise!

When I saw the thread title, I'll admit my left knee started to jerk a little. Those damned Bushies, I thought, always trying to stifle free speech, yada yada.

Then I thought a little more about it. Would I have wanted my college graduation disrupted by a bunch who wanted to make a political statement, even if I agreed? Probably not.

I'm not sure that it's a legitimate limitation to free speech rights, maybe, maybe not, I don't know, but I sure think it's tacky to disrupt a graduation.

avatar4321
05-25-2007, 07:53 PM
The military gets too much respect now?

i suggest we drop this attorney off in the middle of a war zone and see how much respect he has for the military if he survives.

stephanie
05-25-2007, 07:54 PM
OK, righties, be prepared for a surprise!

When I saw the thread title, I'll admit my left knee started to jerk a little. Those damned Bushies, I thought, always trying to stifle free speech, yada yada.

Then I thought a little more about it. Would I have wanted my college graduation disrupted by a bunch who wanted to make a political statement, even if I agreed? Probably not.

I'm not sure that it's a legitimate limitation to free speech rights, maybe, maybe not, I don't know, but I sure think it's tacky to disrupt a graduation.

:clap:

5stringJeff
05-25-2007, 08:24 PM
OK, righties, be prepared for a surprise!

When I saw the thread title, I'll admit my left knee started to jerk a little. Those damned Bushies, I thought, always trying to stifle free speech, yada yada.

Then I thought a little more about it. Would I have wanted my college graduation disrupted by a bunch who wanted to make a political statement, even if I agreed? Probably not.

I'm not sure that it's a legitimate limitation to free speech rights, maybe, maybe not, I don't know, but I sure think it's tacky to disrupt a graduation.

I'm glad to see that we agree. :)

And their free speech rights aren't being limited at all. They can still protest the war. It's their "right" to assemble on a military installation which is being limited.

Mr. P
05-25-2007, 08:34 PM
Since when does a commencement speech become a debate, or the speaker become reason for protest by anyone outside of the student body anyway?

Not the time or place..Geeezzzzzzzz

Gaffer
05-25-2007, 08:44 PM
anti-war demonstrators wanting to go demonstrate on a military post must be suicidal. Break out the whoopass. It's unbelievable that they would even attempt to do that.

They think Chenney is going to go talk to a bunch of graduating cadets about the war. Well....duh.

The protesters' attorney, Stephen Bergstein, said the military gets too much respect. If this guy had said this in front of me I would have bitchslapped him into next Tuesday.

Mr. P
05-25-2007, 09:13 PM
anti-war demonstrators wanting to go demonstrate on a military post must be suicidal. Break out the whoopass. It's unbelievable that they would even attempt to do that.

They think Chenney is going to go talk to a bunch of graduating cadets about the war. Well....duh.

The protesters' attorney, Stephen Bergstein, said the military gets too much respect. If this guy had said this in front of me I would have bitchslapped him into next Tuesday.

Then I'd kick his ass into the next week!