Grandma Banned from Bus

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by sandy, Jun 30, 2007.

  1. sandy Banned Banned

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    LOGAN - A 76-year-old woman has been barred from a bus station after giving unwanted birth-control advice to mothers with large families.
    ''I think it's wrong. It's a violation of my First Amendment rights,'' Laura Stevens said.
    She was arrested Tuesday for trespassing, a misdemeanor, according to police records.
    ''She's been making comments to some of the Hispanic passengers that they should be on the pill, that they're taking over our society,'' said Todd Beutler, general manager of the Cache Valley Transit District.

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    ''The passengers have a right to ride and not be intimidated,'' he said.
    Stevens said she recently noticed a mother struggling to control her six children.
    ''I felt sorry for her. Maybe she doesn't know that she could get a patch and not have a kid for five years,'' Stevens said.

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    She said she will fight the trespassing charge when she appears in Logan's Municipal Court on Tuesday.
    ''We want her to ride the bus,'' Beutler said. ''We just need to make sure that she's not harassing any other passengers.''

    http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6258793
     
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  3. fishtail Registered Senior Member

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    What happened to freedom of speech.
     
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  5. domesticated om Stickler for details Valued Senior Member

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    I hate riding the bus with assholes who wont shut up.

    I think the worst are those religious nutters who want to preach about stuff (IE - the end of the world; living in sin; worshiping Jesus).
     
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  7. lucifers angel same shit, differant day!! Registered Senior Member

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    i agree!!! sitting next to someone who wont shut up isnt fun!! and it is harrasment!!! somtimes opinions are better left unsaid!!
     
  8. original sine Registered Senior Member

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    Freedom of speech? Not in America. Not today. Every branch of government is denying this right. Fucking assholes run this country and they don't even know what the Constitution stands for.
     
  9. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    She's got a point, families, especially poor ones who have to ride the bus, are irresponsible for having so many kids. On the other hand to single out hispanics is obnoxious and racist.
     
  10. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

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    Precisely, spidergoat. Precisely....

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    I don't think grandma was being racist though. She was just speaking about what she saw... :shrug:
     
  11. Pandaemoni Valued Senior Member

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    It seems to me that you do not have freedom of speech in every single context in every single public space, like public bus stations. You can't generally go into the lobby of city hall and start spouting off about any topic you want...the moment your speech becomes disruptive, you get thrown out. The city is allowed to set reasonable regulations on your speech that allow everyone to make full use of the public space. Ordinarily, though regulations have to be content neutral, but I think an exception to the neutrality rule can be applied in the case of intimidating speech. (You can't walk into city hall and start spouting off generally, and you certainly can't go in there explaining to everyone "I'm going to kill you all someday.") The reason for the difference is that intimidating speech is more inherently disruptive.

    The second that grandmother's use and enjoyment of the space started interfering with other people's use and enjoyment, the state gained the right to step in and set some limits. The only question to me is whether or not a permanent ban was overkill (though the transit authority seems open to the possibility of welcoming her back is she agress not to annoy the other passengers).

    If a man went into a bus station and started urinating on an American flag (which is clearly within the confines of political expression and, absent a flag desecration amendment, protected by the First Amendment), he'd be thrown out for similar reasons, because his conduct would run a substantial risk of disrupting other peoples' ability to use the space in the manner for which it was intended.
     
  12. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    The bus station is PRIVATE property. You wanna do that kind of thing, they have permits for it. Get a permit, stand in front of the bus station on the PUBLIC sidewalk and talk away.
     
  13. Pandaemoni Valued Senior Member

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    Since the transit authority in question is funded by the local government out of tax dollars, I assume it was a quasi-government corporation, like Amtrak or most local transit systems, not a private company, like Greyhound.

    In general, I do agree that you have no free speech rights on someone else's private property, though I'd have to check to see whether or not there is any degree of protection extended to the speech rights of individuals using a privately owned public accommodation. ("Public accommodations" are often subject to government regulation and tend to include "terminals, stations and depots used in public transportation," even when privately owned.)
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2007
  14. Lord Hillyer Banned Banned

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    Bush ought to give her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
     
  15. Bells Staff Member

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    Or maybe Grandma could just mind her own business...
     
  16. lucifers angel same shit, differant day!! Registered Senior Member

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    have you met a lot of old people lately, they cant mind they're own business!! its impossible, they all want to give you advice!!
     
  17. Anti-Flag Pun intended Registered Senior Member

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    AHAHAHA that made my day, teach the old biddy to keep her nose out of things which don't concern her.
     

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