Local officials in Andover Township, Ohio denied a local tea party group the right to assemble on September 17 in celebration of Constitution Day. The Trustees of Andover believe that based on the tea parties political affiliation, Constitution Day would be used as a political forum and ordinances prohibit the use of signs in the town square.
“It wasn’t necessarily that this group was disqualified because they’re a Tea Party group that may be considered of a particular political persuasion, but it really was more that the celebration of Constitution Day was considered by the trustees to be less like Memorial Day or Veterans’ Day or 4th of July and more like a political event for whatever reason,” he told CNSNews.com.
A law suit was filed by a nonpartisan law center on behalf of the tea partiers:
“The first thing that you note is the extreme irony of the unconstitutional prohibition of the commemoration of the Constitution,” Executive Director Maurice Thompson, the lawyer of record on the case, told CNSNews.com of the incident.
“[A]nd the second thing that’s notable is either the extreme arrogance or ignorance of many local government officials. There’s so much focus on federal government, yet some of the worst actors are at the ground level,” Thompson said.
“The government’s action in this case, ironically, demonstrates the need for greater public understanding of Constitutional rights,” Thompson added in a written statement. “One way to do that is through commemoration of Constitution Day.”
Local tyrants are just as bad as the ones at the federal level. Anyone who has dealt with a condo or homeowners association knows the misery these petty dictators can inflict.
Source: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75299
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