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Title: Preachers Jailed for Talking About Christianity Without Getting Police Permission First
Source:
Free Thought Project/Rutherford Institute
URL Source: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/pr ... tting-police-permission-first/
Published: Feb 17, 2018
Author: John Whitehead
Post Date: 2018-02-17 09:37:00 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 2189
Comments: 49
West Windsor, NJ — (Rutherford Institute) Two street preachers are targeted, confronted and eventually arrested by transit officers who insist that they stop talking about their Christian beliefs without getting the agency’s permission first, and the courts say that’s all right. But the Rutherford Institute thinks otherwise, and that’s why it’s seeking a rehearing before the entire 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in a First Amendment case involving preachers Don Karns and Robert Parker. A panel of the appeals court previously ruled that the two transit officers, Kathleen Shanahan and Sandra McKeon Crowe, were justified in ordering the preachers to be quiet, grilling them over their activities, and then arresting and charging them – all because they were sharing their beliefs in a public location. “This case sheds light on a disconcerting bureaucratic mindset that wants us to believe that the government has the power to both bestow rights on the citizenry and withdraw those rights when it becomes necessary, whether it’s the right to proselytize on a train platform, the right to address one’s representatives at a city council meeting, or the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute. “Yet those who founded this country believed that our rights are unalienable, meaning that no man or government can take them away from us. Thus, the problem in this case is not the absence of any specific law allowing free speech on the train platform. Rather, the problem is government officials who have forgotten that they work for us and their primary purpose is to safeguard our rights.” Rutherford is seeking a rehearing in the case that erupted when Karns and Parker were preaching at a Princeton, New Jersey, train station. They were charged with trespass and obstruction of justice but eventually cleared of the charges. They then sued the New Jersey Transit Corp. and the officers over the demand that they “obtain a permit” to talk, non-commercially, with others at the public station. The appeals court panel said the officers were immune from claims that they violated the preachers’ constitutional rights – under the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. It was on June 26, 2012, when Karns and Parker began sharing their Christian beliefs with members of the public at the Princeton Junction Station of the NJTC. “No notices were posted at the station prohibiting or restricting First Amendment activities,” Rutherford explained. But they quickly were confronted by Shanahan and Crowe, who first demanded identification, then told them they could not speak without the agency’s permission. When Karns and Parker asserted the train station was a public area, they were arrested. After they were cleared of those counts, the Rutherford Institute filed a civil rights case against the officers for discriminating against them on the basis of the religious content of their speech.
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#8. To: Deckard (#0)
so much for freedom of speech and freedom of religion
Your freedom ends where others begins,and you have all the freedom of religion yuo want in your church.
We have freedom of speech on the streets to. You don't constitutionally require a permit. If you don't like it snaek a Peter and you'll be happy again. If you are walking down the street I can stick a sign in your face that says you're going to hell. If you tried to stop me and touched me I would break both your legs. Then you'd really have a tough time moving around.
Maybe pete thinks that Christians are only allowed to practice their First Amendment rights here:
You have the right to say anything you want to say to each other in a private conversation,in your cult center,on your Sunday tv scamathon,etc,etc,etc. People that don't want to hear it can easily avoid it. What you don't have is the right to get into anyone else's face about your superstitions as they walk down the street minding their own business.
It seems like you want to drive Christians off of the streets and underground into the catacombs to watch Pope Francis Vatican Mass on TV? Imagine what the streets would be like then, nothing but weirdos and pervs! The catacombs were underground rooms and passageways that served as mausoleums in which the ancient Romans buried their dead. When the persecutions began and intensified under Nero, the Christians found that they could retreat into these labyrinthine networks of tunnels to escape the notice or pursuit of Roman soldiers or citizens wishing to turn them in to the authorities. The Early Church developed a vast support network and series of hiding places based on the catacombs. Meanwhile, the use of a public mausoleum as a hiding place caused wild rumors about Christian rituals and practice to spread amongst the Romans. Some Romans believed that the Christians sacrificed their children and performed bizarre, secret worship rituals at midnight. Another rumor was that the Christians drank human blood. This may have come from a misinterpretation of Jesus' command: "Behold, This is my blood. Take ye and drink in remembrance of Me." Today, the Catacombs attract visitors from all over the world. The Christian Church spread throughout the world largely as a result of the persecutions by the Romans. The faithful come to see the places where the early ssaints gathered and the students of history to marvel at the sheer extent of these massive underground galleries and chambers.
Not true. I don't give a damn where they go,as long as they leave me alone and don't go shouting in my face and waving a Bible at me. You have a right to believe any damn fool thing you want to believe if that's what makes you happy,but you don't have the right to push that crap off on me once I tell you I don't want to hear it. BTW,You don't own the bleeping streets,either. If you want to preach,go to your version of Section 8 housing with the steeple and preach there.
If little faggoty snowflakes dont want their little girl feelings hurt they should stay indoors on their personal property. Little faggoty snowflakes don't have a right to demand anyone shut up. Even if it makes them cry.
#34. To: A K A Stone (#31)
So,when are you going to start?
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#10. To: paraclete (#8)
so much for freedom of speech and freedom of religion
#12. To: sneakypete (#10)
#16. To: A K A Stone, sneakypete, hondo68 (#12)
(Edited)
We have freedom of speech on the streets to. You don't constitutionally require a permit.
#18. To: Deckard (#16)
#22. To: sneakypete, Deckard, A K A Stone, Liberator (#18)
You have the right to say anything you want to say to each other in a private conversation,in your cult center,on your Sunday tv scamathon,etc,etc,etc.
The Catacombs: A Place of hiding and Worship For the Early Church
#28. To: hondo68 (#22)
It seems like you want to drive Christians off of the streets and underground into the catacombs to watch Pope Francis Vatican Mass on TV?
#31. To: sneakypete (#28)
Not true. I don't give a damn where they go,as long as they leave me alone and don't go shouting in my face and waving a Bible at me
Replies to Comment # 31. If little faggoty snowflakes dont want their little girl feelings hurt they should stay indoors on their personal property.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 31.
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