Court says: 'Terror Fears Can't Curb Liberty'

jettoblack writes "Finally, a glimmer of sanity... according to the AP, "Fear of a terrorist attack is not sufficient reason for authorities to search people at a protest, a federal appeals court has ruled..." Another great quote: "We cannot simply suspend or restrict civil liberties until the War on Terror is over, because the War on Terror is unlikely ever to be truly over..." Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote for the panel. "Sept. 11, 2001, already a day of immeasurable tragedy, cannot be the day liberty perished in this country.""

Comments

Re:There is hope for my waning faith in Americans.

[CodeWanker]

If I go to a Gay Rights event, and put on a tee shirt that says, "I'm gonna murder all you fags and laugh as you burn in hell" and then walk up to people there and try to engage them in conversation about the weather to trick them into looking at me and reading the shirt, then I'm accosting them. Oh, sure, theoretically they don't HAVE to read the shirt, but they're gonna. While you like to maintain the facade that you haven't thought this through, I think the real issue here is that you're being deliberately obtuse because you support the views of the people being arrested. But I've got to tell you: if a bunch of libertarians bought tickets to a Kerry (or Nader) rally, put on shirts that said, "Kerry (or Nader) is a Goddamned Commie Dirtbag and I'm Going To Kill Him and Laugh as He Burns In Hell," then went around and asked people about the weather, then got invited to leave or be arrested, then refused to leave, then got arrested, I would not hold them up as victims of the police state. And I would not do that because it would be so obviously dumb as to make negative implications about my intelligence. Even though I agree that Kerry and Nader are filthy crypto-Socialists who lie about their true ideology to get their slimy tentacles on the power of the presidency.