Lost Freedom

[loren]

obama Signed a bill into law that makes it illegal to protest in his presence.

Obama signs bill 'in secret' making FREE SPEECH ILLEGAL! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKjy0PDlKV4)

Before you liberals roll your eyes and say "it's just Fox News", lets hear from the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeanine-molloff/trespass-bill_b_1328205.html



H. R. 347 makes protest of any type potentially a federal offense with anywhere from a year to 10 years in federal prison, providing it occurs in the presence of elites brandishing Secret Service protection, or during an officially defined 'National Special Security Event' (NSSE (http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Special_Security_Event)). NSSEs , ( an invention of Bill Clinton) are events which have been deemed worthy of Secret Service protection, which previously received no such treatment. Justified through part of 'Presidential Decision Directive 62 in 1998; Bill Clinton created an additional class of special events explicitly under the authority of the U.S. Secret Service.

[Prospero]

Indeed this is a cause for concern for you guys.

https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/how-big-deal-hr-347-criminalizing-protest-bill

[Stavros]

There was a time when it was possible for a member of the public to walk up Downing St and stand on the other side of the road from No 10. As a consequence of the war against Britain by Irish republicans in the 1970s and 1980s -one of which was a direct missile attack on No 10- there is no public access at all, there are railings with a gate, and in recent years, concrete bunkers have been placed on the pavements to make it harder/impossible for vehicles with bombs to be driven into government offices.

Unauthorised protests outside Parliament during a session were illegal under the 1839 Act which was partially repealed by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act of 2005; because of the so-called 'Peace Camp' and other activities, an amendment was made in 2011 -the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act now governs protests outside Parliament but certain restictions remain. It is complicated by Westminster Council and London bye-laws which also govern the right to protest in certain areas.

The bottom line is that they don't like it when it gets too close for comfort, be it the USA, the UK, Russia or China or anywhere else.

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_Organised_Crime_and_Police_Act_2005)
Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_Reform_and_Social_Responsibility_Act_2011)

[trish]

Thanks for the ACLU link Prosperous, which puts the bill in perspective. I recall that whenever W spoke in public, anyone wearing a T-shirt expressing any anti-conservative sentiment whatsoever was asked to leave the audience or be arrested. This sort of non-security related breach, IMO, is much more egregious.

[Prospero]

And I recall when I was visiting family in Florida during W's adminstration that someone was arrested in a local mall for wearing an anti Bush t shirt.